


Data's Journey

by K_nz



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alien Culture, Bisexuality, Dancing, Developing Relationship, Flying, Flying Sex, Fun, Harrowing Situations, Hot Sex, Intrigue, Multi, New Family, Some Humor, Suspense, Touching moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 46
Words: 102,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27787240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_nz/pseuds/K_nz
Summary: datasjourneybook.linkData starts a relationship with a woman from a newly discovered planet.But what does she really want?Why she is really there?And is data ready for the consequences?If you like intrigue, adventure, romance, humor, fun, hot sex, harrowing situations, and deeply touching moments - this is YOUR book. Enjoy!Many explicit (consensual, non-violent, sometimes a little kinky) sex scenes (we're using Data's sexual programming to the fullest!) including bi sex (Data's sampling the menu). But there are also plot points and inner monologue, so Data's experiences show his learning and growth, as well as bits of information that become important and even pivotal later on. There's also the experience of discovering a new culture. It's a lovely arch of a life for Data - my blowing kiss goodbye to the iconic character.The website above has a version where the door closes on the bedroom scenes. Except a couple with plot points I couldn't get around any other way, but they are non-explicit. I prefer the original version. I feel it shows Data's development and relationship more fully, and it loses something with the redactions. It's for those who prefer no/little sex.
Relationships: Data/Neara (original character)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Data's Journey website to download pdf version

datasjourneybook.link

Please go to my website if you would like a pdf version of this book or if you want the non-explicit version.

I will go ahead and post the explicit version to AO3, but feel free to get the pdf instead.

Enjoy!

K'nz (pronounced Kaynz, like the economist)

Disclaimer:

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (specifically CBS – Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard). The original characters, settings, and plot are the property of the author (K’nz). All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.


	2. Preface

In my opinion, “Star Trek: Picard” was fantastic (all except for perhaps that imagination gizmo), so kudos to them for adding another great story to the Star Trek universe. I’m looking forward to seeing the next installment.

But with the beloved character Data being no more (I understand Brent Spiner’s reasoning), it reminded me how crushy he was to me and many others. (A big shout out to you Brent Spiner for really bringing that character to life. I especially loved your acting in the episode “Brothers” where you were playing three parts. That must have been fun for you – it was quite impressive to watch.) So I decided to create an alternate timeline for Data.

It starts back in the original Star Trek the Next Generation series and picks up roughly some time at the end of the fourth season.  
It’s scifi, so the sequence is very flexible. I may pick up some plot points from the future and disregard some plot points from the past, but hey, it’s an alternate timeline so anything is possible!

This timeline will involve my own personal crossover characters, the Ahmrians. I have used my characters in fantasies since I was a child. Any time I read a book or saw a series or movie I particularly connected with, I would create scenarios where the Ahmrians would meet those characters.

Certain aspects of my Ahmrians would change depending on the universe I was dropping them into, but their basic characteristics would remain the same. They can fly, they love to dance, they are very sexual (I’m a bi woman, so their sex lives are very fluid – much of it taken from my own experience with couples and multiples), they have various magical/mystical abilities (again, changing with the universe), and they are a very joyful, close-knit community.

If you like my Ahmrians, please let me know. I would be happy to write a stand-alone story or stories with just them (outside of the Star Trek universe, of course – IP and all that stuff). Perhaps you might even have ideas of adventures you’d like to see them in.

This is my first foray into fan fiction. It’s nice it exists so the fans can have a little fun. I will admit, I don’t know what many of the Star Trek gizmos are called, or planetary systems, or various technical babble, so I’m just making shit up. If someone would like to help me correct this and make it more realistic for the fans, I’d certainly be open to it.

This story will have a lot of sex in it, because as I said, Data is crushy and, you know.. you don’t wanna waste all that sexual programming! It has bi/multiple sex as well, because well, yeah of course. Feel free to skip those parts if you want, but you might miss a few salient points, because the sex isn’t just for sex’s sake. But even if it was, with everything going on, people might appreciate a fun fantasy tryst right about now.

It will start out building the relationships and backstory, but it will graduate into action and adventure and (hopefully you’ll find) some deeply emotional moments.

It merges seamlessly into the “Picard” series. And it explains the reason and how the imagination gizmo was made.

Alright, dear Readers, I hope you enjoy “Data’s Journey.”


	3. Meeting

Data walked onto the bridge and saw Geordi looking up at a woman hovering in front of the ceiling above him. Her back was to him, and she didn’t look down.

“Alright,” Geordi instructed, “now I need you to remove that ceiling panel. It’ll stick to the one beside you.”

Data walked over and stood beside Geordi looking up at the woman.

“Now, you should see the lanyard coil. But you’ll need this tabor wrench to adjust it.” As Geordi held up the instrument, it instantly shot out of his hand and into her outstretched one. She had not looked down, nor even looked to see it reach her hand.

Adjustment made, she replaced the panel, then turned and floated down while looking at the front of her uniform, attempting to brush the dust off it and muttering at the effort.

“Neara Na Ahta, this is Lieutenant Commander Data,” Geordi gestured in introduction. Neara looked up, her striking indigo eyes falling on Data. She said under her breath “ _val na ha_ ” as she softly landed. Data heard, but did not recognize the language.

“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Commander Data,” she said in her thick Ahmrian accent while Geordi received a hail from engineering. He walked a few steps, taking his discussion away from them.

“You need only call me Data. It is nice to meet you as well. That is a unique skill you possess.”

“Is nothing. All can do in Ahmria,” Neara waved the comment away.

“I see. Ahmria is a very new contact for the Federation and we are still learning about your culture. But are you Starfleet? I do not see any insignia on your uniform,” Data stated.

“What is insignia?” Neara queried.

“The pips on your collar indicate your Starfleet rank,” he said, pointing at his pips, “but you do not have any.”

She reached one hand up and ran a finger over her collar while extending the other to Data’s collar and running a finger over his pips. Her sudden intimacy surprised him.

“No, I am not Starfleet. I am here only to help. They use me to reach high things!” she laughed.

Data smiled slightly and nodded. Geordi spoke up, “Na Ahta, I need to go to engineering, so just do the same thing to panels eleven and twelve and come meet me there when you’re done.”

“I will do,” responded Neara.

She looked back to Data, “I am not long on ship and do not know special places. Would you show me these please?”

“Yes, of course,” Data replied.

“You do tonight?” she asked.

“Yes. I can meet you in the observation lounge at 1900 hours.”

“I also do not know many people on ship. May I meet your friends as well please?”

“Yes, I could ask them to join us in Ten Forward this evening.”

“That sound lovely. I see you then!” And with that, she floated up to the ceiling to finish her work while Data went to his station.


	4. Friends

Neara greeted Data with a beaming smile and he took her to tour the ship.

He showed her the holodecks, the arboretum, the anti-gravity chamber, which she would never use, the gymnasium, and other rooms for various leisure activities. He also told her of the regular concerts, painting, and sculpture classes. Although she was not human, he went on the assumption she might appreciate human recreation.

While they walked, she asked him questions about where he was from, how long he had been in Starfleet, how long he had been on the Enterprise, would he live on Earth or another planet someday, what entertainment he liked, and so on. He realized she was trying to get to know him, and he asked her questions in kind.

They arrived at Ten Forward to find Geordi, Troi, and Riker at a table waiting for them. Data went to make the introductions, but Neara already knew everyone. She had, of course, been doing work for Geordi, but she had met Riker when she came on board, since he greeted all new arrivals and assigned them to their various departments. And she knew Troi – Data assumed she sought counseling from her, so he did not pry as to their connection.

“Even though I meet you before, it is lovely to take time to get to know you now,” Neara said.

“Likewise,” intoned Riker. “Whatilya have to drink Neara?”

With that, Guinan came up to the table. “You’re Neara Na Ahta of Ahmria,” she confirmed.

“Yes,” Neara replied.

She placed a hand on Neara’s shoulder. “My name’s Guinan. I’m El-Aurian… Thank you,” she said earnestly.

Neara put her hand over Guinan’s and smiled. They held each other’s gaze for a moment and then released hands.

“What can I get you to drink?” Guinan asked. “We have a lovely Paradise Passion Flower beverage I think you’ll enjoy.”

“I try that,” Neara stated, and the others ordered in turn.

“So what was that about?” Riker queried.

“Oh, is nothing. She is very kind. I give some help is all. What you drink? Maybe I try as well,” Neara said, changing the subject.

The conversation flowed easily, everyone asking questions, learning about the others’ cultures.

“So you like to explore? You like to count things?” Neara asked. “Why not send wave out to see first? Then know if want to or OK to go?”

“A wave? Like sonar?” Data questioned.

“Yes. You send out.. _whomb_ ,” with each _whomb_ , Neara stretched her hand like she was throwing out the wave. “You feel back. You see there is life.. _whomb_. You see each thing – each planet, each rock, each insect. _Whomb_ , _whomb_ , _whomb_. You do this for universe, you see all. Why not do this first? Then you know where want to go.”

Data explained, “We do not have the technology to send a wave through the entire universe. We can scan from the Enterprise, but its range is comparatively limited. What device do you use to do this?”

“There is no device,” stated Neara.

“Are you describing a psi ability?” asked Data.

“What is psi ability?” Neara inquired.

“It’s like what Deanna does,” Riker responded. “She’s able to sense emotions with her mind and communicate telepathically.”

Troi elaborated, “It’s the ability to do these things without mechanical help. To do them from within. Is that what your people are doing when they send out this wave to see or feel the universe?”

“Yes, it is psi.” Neara declared.

“Then we definitely don’t have the ability to do that yet,” stated Geordi.

“But you do, it is in you,” Neara countered. “It is in your DNA. It is your antenna.”

“Our antenna must be broken then,” chuckled Geordi. “You know there’s a bunch of junk DNA in there.”

“This is no true, is no junk.” Neara asserted. “You call it junk because you see it do nothing, but it can do this.”

“Well, how do we get it to do that?” he asked.

Neara studied Geordi for a moment, “Needs unblocked first. You must wait. Will happen when ready.”

“But I hate being patient!” Geordi joked. Everyone except Data laughed.

“That explains why machines cannot replicate psi ability and why I do not have it myself,” stated Data.

Neara looked at Data intently for a few seconds. “You have missing parts. You miss antenna here, boop!” With that she patted the top of his head. “And you also miss drum here, boom boom,” and she patted below his sternum.

With that, one of Lal’s memories flooded his mind – of her jabbing that area of her body in emotional distress.

“Is the drum area where you feel emotions?” Data asked.

“Yes. You miss drum, no?” Neara asked.

“Yes, I have no emotions. Are these parts something that I can have installed?” Data asked with anticipation.

“No. Would need to grow,” Neara responded.

“How do I go about growing them?” Data wished to start on it right away.

“Is difficult to explain. As with the humans, it will happen when it happens,” she stated. “Even androids must have patience!” she laughed.

“Yes, of course,” Data obligingly agreed.

The conversation continued amiably and Neara kept looking over at Data. She found him so beautiful. He was good and kind – a pure light being. She was mesmerized.

She got up with a sudden, “I need to pee. Where I go?” They told her where the bathroom was and she left.

“Well, she is something,” Riker said with a little chuckle.

“She’s really into you, Data,” Geordi informed him.

“Is this correct?” he directed his question to Troi, knowing she would be able to read Neara.

Deanna replied with a smile, “Yes Data, she’s interested in you.”

“Well, then I should ‘nip this in the bud’, as the expression goes,” Data declared.

“Why do you wanna do that? Don’t you like her?” Geordi wondered.

“It is not that.” Data explained, “She is an emotional being, and I have not been successful in that context. I do not wish to potentially hurt her.”

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” quoted Riker.

“I think you should give it a chance Data,” encouraged Geordi.

“So do I,” Troi agreed.

“But both you and Counselor Troi had misgivings when I was to date Jenna D’Sora,” a baffled Data recounted.

Geordi explained, “Yes but, Jenna was getting over a break-up. That’s just not the time to get involved with somebody. Neara seems very happy and hasn’t said anything about an ex. I don’t know, I gotta go with Riker on this one buddy. I think you should try again – if for no other reason then to keep learning about emotions.”

“And you Counselor?” Data asked.

“Well, Neara is a very different person from Jenna – she’s a different species to begin with. And what I do know of her, I really think your lack of emotions will be very peaceful for her. As with Tam Elbrun, I think she may be drawn to you for similar reasons. I believe you should be open to seeing where things go,” Troi counseled.

She continued, “But please just make certain to be yourself this time. No extra programming – just learn as you go along. That’s what relationships are like for everyone else, and if you want a truly human experience, you should do it as humans do.”

“Alright, I shall try, try again,” Data declared.

“She’s coming back. Nope, she’s stopped to talk to Guinan… Alright, here she comes,” with that, Riker loudly changed the subject. “Yeah, I don’t know about Zephoria wines – Picard’s are pretty good though...”

“Will you walk me back to my quarters please, Data?” Neara asked.

“Certainly,” he replied as they said goodnight to everyone.

They chatted on the way there and once they were at her door, Neara asked, “Would you like to go on a picnic with me in the arboretum tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am off duty at 1900 hours. I could come by your quarters after then, unless that would be too late for you to eat,” Data offered.

“No, that is fine. I will see you tomorrow,” with that she kissed his cheek and went inside.


	5. First Date

Neara came to the door, blanket under her arm and picnic basket floating in front of her. She took Data’s arm and they walked to the arboretum.

She was easy to talk to, he could certainly learn more about the art of conversation from her. And she was very happy. He wondered if that was her usual state or if she was unusually happy in her present circumstances.

He was going to do as Troi suggested and learn as he went along. Heuristic learning was how he built his neural net, after all, so he was very experienced with the process.

But before his date, he did think it prudent to learn everything he could about Ahmria – which wasn’t much. The Federation was still learning about their culture.

He also learned Ahmrian, in as much as he could. The language was difficult to translate, with its varying pitch and context changing the definition of a word. He would add to the translation bank what he learned speaking Ahmrian with Neara.

They sat on the blanket and talked and ate. When she laughed, he smiled. Her laugh had a pleasant sound.

Data did not get a chance to use the Ahmrian he learned since Neara only wanted to speak English until she had improved sufficiently. She promised to speak Ahmrian with him in the near future.

During their English conversation, they found out more about each other. Data already knew she was called Neara Na Ahta, because she was Na (of the) Ahta clan. That was why they used it as her title on the ship.

Her immediate clan consisted of a mother, Leyna, a younger brother, Yara, who had two partners, or ka’sha (love ones), as they were called, one female, Erda, and the other male, Pata, an uncle, Jossa, and a cousin, Seyta.

All names ended in an “ah” sound, since that was considered a very open and giving vibration. Data’s name was considered auspicious, since both his given name and his Ahmrian name ended with the “ah” sound. His Ahmrian name was even more auspicious, because it had two “ah” sounds to it, La’Ma, with emphasis on the second syllable. Roughly translated, it meant ‘font of knowledge.’

Ahmrians did not have marriage as such. They did have a bonding ceremony, but it was not often performed. Apparently, most relationships were not close enough to justify it.

Ahmrian reproduction was the same as a human’s, but gestation was seven months. Neara’s mother had no partners and genetically combined the sperm of several men so there would be no specific father. She did not want that bond with another. But she wanted her children. Because of this, they looked different, although shared the similar traits of their mother.

Their hair had soft curls, but where Neara’s looked like spun gold, Yara’s was raven black, like their mother’s. They both had creamy skin, skin color coming from the mother’s genetic code, but Ahmrians had skin tones anywhere from creamy to light indigo all the way to a midnight blue color. Their hair color was either gold, indigo, or raven black. All Ahmrians had the same color indigo eyes though.

The most important credo of the Ahmrian culture was being of use for the good and changing the harmonic of the universe for the better. Their entire society used vibration to cure, to grow, to protect, even to fly. Different people had different types and levels of ability in manipulating harmonics. Their planet had a protective harmonic shield and their natural abilities were amplified when on their home planet. Apparently all of this was built up over many aeons with it being added to all the time.

They had been talking for nearly four hours. Data was sitting on the blanket, legs stretched out in front of him, when Neara suddenly came over and straddled him. She put her arms around his neck.

“May I kiss you?” she asked.

“Yes, you may,” Data responded.

She leaned in and kissed him gently, slowly. She turned her head slightly to the side and kissed him deeper. Her hands stroked his hair and she looked at him. She bent in and kissed him deeply, her hands moving across his hair.

She kept kissing him, stroking his hair, when he was startled by shock going across his mind. The sensation was a mild electrical pulse traveling like a wave over his neural net.

She kissed him and it happened again. He gently moved her back saying, “Something is wrong. There is something happening… to my neural net.” His words were slow to form.

She leaned in and kissed him. “I would not hurt you,” she whispered and kissed him again, “I would never hurt you…” she said between kisses, “I will give you anything you want… I will not hurt you...”

She continued kissing him and the buzzing in his head increased slightly. But somehow, he felt reassured. And somehow, the buzzing was very pleasant.

She stopped. “Would you like to go back to my quarters?” Neara asked.

“Yes,” Data replied, in a bit of a daze. A unique experience for him.

Neara floated up and Data stood. The four corners of the blanket rose together into her outstretched hand. She twirled the blanket, dishes crashing together, making a bundle.

She said, “I race you there!” and flew out of the arboretum like a shot.

Data turned and ran after her. They were neck and neck in the hallway, shooting past startled crew members, until they reached her door at the same time.

Neara let out a peal of laughter and the door opened. She dropped her bundle on the floor and kicked off her shoes. Data did the same. Her culture might not like shoes to be worn in the home.

She pulled Data close to her and kissed him deeply. She stepped back to remove her dress. Her Ahmrian clothing consisted of one piece of fabric tied at the waist and over the shoulders. She undid the tie at her waist and undid the tie at her shoulders pulling the fabric open and letting it drop to the floor. She was naked underneath.

Neara went to him and pulled his shirt off. Data removed the rest of his clothing, then she took him by the hand and led him to her bed.

She lay down and moved to the side so he could climb in beside her. Once in, she gently pushed on his shoulder so he was lying on his back. Even though Data had sexual programming, he was committed to learning heuristically in this situation and was appreciative of her direct approach. He would use his programming only to test what she liked if she did not make her intentions clear.

Neara lay on top of him and started kissing him again, stroking his hair. Intense heat was radiating from her solar plexus area sinking into him. Her hands ran down his arms and she moved them so he was holding her. He stroked her back and she sighed appreciatively.

He ran his hands up and down her body and her hips began slowly gyrating. Did this mean she wanted his erection? He would do so and see how Neara reacted. She let out a pleased hum. She lifted up and his erection fell between them. Neara lay back on him, moving her hips up and down and around, and Data could feel her clitoris and labia as they rubbed him.

All the time, Neara was kissing him and stroking his hair, the buzzing starting again.

She kissed up his neck slowly, slightly sucking, until she was under his ear, where she kissed a few times. Data thought he should try this on Neara later to gauge her reaction. She went from his ear to his jawline, opening her mouth over it and running her teeth across, ending in a kiss – a very gentle bite. She continued this way bit by bit up to his chin. Once there, she kissed up his face to the corner of his lips and kissed sensually. She ran her lips over his, then brought her hand to his chin and gently pulled to open his mouth slightly.

Neara’s lips were softly touching Data’s, her mouth slightly open as well. She sucked in a breath, as if taking it from Data. She held it for a moment, then sighed it back into his mouth. She repeated this three times and let out a breathy _ooohhhhh_ when she was done.

She sniffed up the other side of his neck and let out another _ooohhhhh._

N eara sat up straddling him and rubbed more vigorously on his erection. Her breathing was getting heavier.  One hand was on his chest and he could feel the buzz there now. Her other hand led his down to her  buttocks  and she squeezed her fingers over his, letting him know she wanted him to squeeze her. He complied, and she took his other hand and brought it to her breast. She took his thumb and ran it over her nipple. He continued the action and she placed both her hands on his che st .

S he ran further up his erection until he could feel her wet opening at his tip.

Then she gathered him in, and pushed down onto him slowly, just the first few millimeters, with an audible  _oohhh_ escaping her mouth.

Her chest flushed. She held her breath.

She moved up a little, then slid down on him even further. She sighed _oohhh_ again.

She moved up a little, then  took him all the way in with a guttural  _oooohhhhhh!_

Neara moved Data’s hands  low on her hips.  She ground on his erection, her clitoris rubbing on his skin. He did n o t need to manually stimulate her, as he had done Tasha – she was stimulating herself.

Her face almost looked as if she were in pain. It was fascinating to him that the expressions looked so similar.

Neara came down and kissed him again, hands in his hair, _buuzzzzzz_ , and his many thoughts faded into the background. He became totally focused on their connection, the feel of being inside her.

She sat up partially, hands braced above his shoulders, and moved faster. She kept this rhythm going and going, Data watching her breasts bounce, the pained concentration on her face. Then Neara moved faster still. Abruptly, she pushed him in as deep as he could go and stopped, then slowly moved her hips forward. She held her breath, her nipples puckered, he could feel her vaginal muscles spasm around his erection. Her hips moved back and she let out a long _oooohhhhhh_ of pleasure.

Neara lay back down on Data and gave him a deep kiss. Did she want him to withdraw his erection? He moved to do so when Neara said, “No, not yet. It feels so good, me all swollen around you and you so hard.” She kissed him, and her hips started moving again. Did she want him to start moving inside her? He decided to stay as he was. Hopefully, she would let him know.

After a few kisses she said, “OK now,” and he withdrew. She got up and went to the bathroom. When she got back she asked him to move over to one side of the bed. Neara kissed him and asked him to lay on his side. She spooned up against him, her back against his front and wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep.


	6. The Morning After

Data was fascinated watching Neara sleep. He had not previously had the opportunity to observe a sleeping person so intimately.

She was surprisingly active, rolling from one side of the bed to the other, first on her stomach, then her side, then her back, her side again, with her limbs sprawled in all directions, occasionally twitching. Her eyes moved under her eyelids – she was dreaming. Data decided at one point to spend twenty minutes dreaming. He wished to investigate if it was possible to communicate in their dreams, or if they would even share a dream. He would ask her when she awakened.

She got up once during the night to use the bathroom. When she returned, she gave him a kiss and cuddled into his chest, quickly falling back to sleep. Again she started rolling across the bed followed by more REM sleep.

In the morning Data crept out of bed and left the room.

“Data to Commander Riker,” he hailed.

“Riker here,” Riker responded.

“I have not asked before but,” Data hesitated, “may I take a personal day today?”

There was a smirk in Riker’s voice, “Ah, so the date went well.” Before Data could answer, he continued, “I’ll do ya one better Data, how about you take the week off? I’ll shuffle people around to cover your shifts. I’ll also let La Forge know not to expect Neara for the week. Enjoy!”

Riker ended communication before Data could thank him.

He went back and silently slipped into bed.

Neara awoke, her hair a jumble, and got up to use the bathroom, smoothing her hair down as she walked. She returned, crawled into bed and moved over to him, pushing him onto his back.

She lay on top of him, face over his, her belly hot, hands combing his hair.

“Good morning,” she smiled.

“Good morning,” Data replied, and she kissed him.

“Good morning,” she drew the words out a bit.

“Good morning,” Data responded, and she kissed him again.

“Good morning,” Neara cooed.

“Good morning,” Data said, puzzled, and she gave him a long kiss.

When she withdrew Data asked, “Is it customary for Ahmrians to greet three times?”

“No, it is not,” Neara laughed, “it is just a very good morning!” and continued kissing him. Data noted she really enjoyed kissing him. It was very pleasurable.

Neara sniffed sensually up his neck, “You smell so good.”

“I did not realize I had any particular scent,” Data responded.

“It is like Ahmrian chasas tree bark. What would it be like here… almonds, perhaps? Something like that – very nice,” and Neara started kissing him again.

They spoke between kisses.

“Did you have any dreams, ka’lee?” she asked.

Data instantly translated, ka love, lee mine or my, love mine love my, ah, ‘my love’. “Yes, I dreamt I was kissing a star.”

“Oh, I have never been compared to a star before. Thank you!” Neara gushed and kissed him deeply.

Data had difficulties interpreting his dreams, but when he heard it, he knew Neara’s assessment was accurate. Perhaps she could help him interpret future dreams.

“What did you dream?” Data asked.

“I do not remember. They are gone in the mist,” Neara said, fluttering her fingers in portrayal.

“When are you on duty today?” she continued.

“I spoke with Commander Riker earlier, and he has given us both the week off,” Data informed her.

“Oh, how wonderful – I have you for a whole week! I will need to thank Will when I see him next,” she said happily.

Data continued, “I will need to go and take care of Spot. I will return after I have done so.” He had told Neara about his cat during their date.

“Why not bring Spot over here, for a vacation?” Neara asked.

“Yes, I think she would enjoy the experience. I could adjust your doors so she would not escape,” Data agreed. “I should warn you though, she has not gotten along well with other crew members.”

“I am not worried,” Neara assured him.

Neara then rolled off Data onto her back. She stretched and spread her limbs expansively. “Oh, I feel wonderful!” she exclaimed. She took Data’s hand to her mouth and kissed his palm. No one had kissed his palm before, although he had experienced a kiss on the back of his hand. It felt quite nice.

She turned onto her stomach and sensually kissed his inner wrist. Neara slowly kissed up his inner arm to the crook of his elbow. She sucked a bit when she kissed there. She continued up his bicep to his shoulder.

Data appreciated that Neara took time to stimulate him, to give him new experiences. She did not need to do this, Data had no need for sexual stimulation. Indeed, Tasha Yar had not concerned herself with his pleasure. With many humans he had the distinct impression that, being an android, his life did not weight as much value as their own. But Neara called him a being, the same as she called the humans. And given her behavior, she appeared to value him equally.

Neara got up and moved down to the side of his chest. She kissed and sucked, almost like she was eating him, up to his nipple. She put her mouth and tongue around it and moved her head gently side to side, her tongue sweeping over him. It felt good, and he let himself get an erection.

She continued the eating kiss down his chest to the protrusion of his rib cage. She opened her mouth around it and slowly drew it closed, with a little suction, ending in a kiss.

She kissed down to his protruding hip and used the same technique again. Then she moved in between his legs, her hands caressing his body as she went.

She turned her head to the side and kissed his upper thigh, at which point, she opened her opened her mouth and put her teeth over the muscle. Her lips created a slight vacuum and she slowly ran her teeth over him closing her jaw a few millimeters, her tongue touching his skin. A very gentle bite.

She moved down his thigh doing the same thing until she had nearly reached his kneecap, at which point she moved her head parallel to his leg and licked slowly up the inside of his thigh.

At the top, she did that sucking kiss again. Then she moved closer to his genitals and did it again. And again, closer still.

Neara placed her hands on either side of his genitals, pressing down slightly.

She turned her head to the side and opened her mouth over the base of his erection, her mouth not touching it. She moved her open mouth from the base to just under the tip, breathing out hot air as she went. She did it again, then straightened her head.

She licked one side of his erection from the base to just under the tip. She went to the other side and did the same.

Neara turned her head to the side again, opened her mouth, and placed it over the base of his erection. Her flattened tongue and wet lips moved from the base to under the tip and back again a couple of times.

When she reached the top of her stroke, she released. Her mouth still open, she placed it above his tip and hot air washed over him. When her breath had run out, slowly her wet lips closed around the tip and her hands went to lift his erection.

She took him in her mouth part way and then as much as she could, holding the rest of him in her hand. She moved up and down, up and down, wet and hot and sucking, a buzzing emanating from there, traveling up to the back of his brain and washing over his head.

Neara released him and moved to straddle him. She guided his erection into her and slid down on him. Data moved his hands to her hips as Neara started grinding on his erection.

She moved like she had the night before, holding her breath, a quick breath out and in, then holding it again. Her face looked pained, her nipples puckered, she spasmed around him, and an electrical burst traveled from his groin to his head ending in shimmering lights erupting behind his eyes. It felt amazing.

When it had subsided, he did a system check. He was functioning properly. Neara had not hurt him, as she promised, but she had brought about an astonishing sensation.

She was lying on him now, stroking his hair, kissing his neck, when Data asked, “Is the electrical current part of Ahmrian sexual activity?”

“The harmonic is for feeling. Do you not want it?” Neara asked.

“I do want it – I find it very enjoyable,” Data affirmed, as they held each other in the afterglow.


	7. The Week Together

Data and Neara went to collect Spot and some clothing for Data. His uniform made Neara feel he was going to leave for duty at any moment.

Data fed Spot, who took an instant liking to Neara, and went to gather his things. She was looking through a stack of his paintings and came across the one of Lal.

“Who is this?” she asked.

“That is Lal,” Data replied. Neara knew of Lal – they had discussed his daughter over their picnic date.

Neara pulled out the painting, “Why not hang this? Do you not wish to see her?”

“It is not that, I can see her perfectly in my mind, so the image is not necessary,” Data explained.

Neara took the painting over to the wall, “Well, I do not have a perfect image of her in my mind, so I would like to see it up when I come over. I think it would look nice here.”

“Of course,” Data consented, “Wherever you like.”

Neara went about hanging the painting while Data finished packing. He collected Spot into her carrier, put his bag over his shoulder, and walked over to Neara.

She stood back from her work approvingly, “There, finished. What do you think?”

“It looks very nice,” he replied.

Neara looked him over and asked, “Ready?”

“Yes,” Data answered.

“Then let us go on vacation Spot,” she spoke to the orange tabby in the carrier.

As they left Data’s quarters Data asked, “Does this mean we are dating?”

“What is dating?” Neara questioned.

“To regularly spend time with someone with whom you have a romantic relationship,” defined Data.

“Yes, we are dating,” smiled Neara, and took Data’s hand.

When they arrived back with Spot, Neara drew a bath, and Data and Neara both got in. Data gently washed Neara’s hair, admiring the way it shimmered in the light.

Data knew the crew found Neara attractive by the looks they gave her. They especially seemed captivated by her eyes – their indigo blue with a sheen of aquamarine to them, like a neon layer that made her eyes slightly glow.

But Data would not have cared if Neara was considered attractive or even what species or gender, if any, she was, but it did make things easier that she was humanoid. He had sexual programming for humans which translated well to Ahmrians. It would have been difficult to find information on sex with non-humanoids or inter-species sexuality, if his partner had any desire for such things.

As he washed Neara, he noticed how very soft she was. Especially compared to Tasha Yar, who had hardened muscles from years of training. He was curious if he felt hard to Neara.

“Does my body feel hard to you?” he asked.

“You are hard in the right places and soft in the right places,” Neara replied. “Your lips are very soft,” she said and reached back to touch his lips, “I like them very much.”

They got out of the bath and gently dried each other off.

Neara took Data by the hand to the bedroom and they got into bed.

She said, “I would like you to give me mouth pleasure please.”

“You mean oral sex?” Data clarified.

“Yes please. I show you what I like,” with that, Neara placed her mouth on the heal of Data’s hand. Her lips created a slight suction, her tongue flattened against him and she fluttered it rapidly, albeit softly.

“I will move a great deal, but do not let go,” she instructed. “And do not push hard against me – always keep the same gentle pressure and suction. If I desire harder, I will push your head into me.

“When I get to climax, you must stop fluttering, but keep your tongue in place with the gentle suction. If you do not realize, I will let you know when to stop fluttering – I will touch your face. Once my orgasm has finished, I will want you inside me.

“But to begin, please start with kissing my body until you are between my legs,” Neara requested.

Data complied, grateful for her clear instructions. He began by kissing her lips, then below her ear as she had done to him. She enjoyed it a great deal. Then down her neck, down her breast and gently sucked her nipple. He went to her other breast and did the same, then down her stomach. When he was between her legs, he put his hands on either side of her outer labia and pulled them gently apart.

He placed his mouth over her as she had instructed and started fluttering his tongue. There was a buzzing in his brain. Neara began grinding her hips, slowly at first. Then she became more energetic and started bucking. It was difficult to keep suctioned on, but Data managed.

She started holding her breath, followed by sharp inhalations, then holding her breath again. Her grinding slowed, and Data stopped fluttering. “No, do not stop,” Neara said breathlessly. She sped up her hips and after a few moments, slowed again. He kept fluttering.

She was completely silent, her breath held, her muscles tight, he saw her nipples pucker, she moved her pelvis down and at the same time touched his face. He stopped fluttering – he would know when to stop next time.

Data kept the suction constant, tongue in place, and Neara exclaimed, _oh_ _great_ _universe!_ , in Ahmrian. Lights exploded behind his eyes. Neara caught her breath and as her breathing slowed she said, “OK now,” to Data and he released his lips.

“Come to me,” she compelled him, and Data crawled up and guided his erection into her. He found himself eager to do so. Neara’s breath was ragged. She pulled her legs up and used the heels of her feet as a spurs to push against Data’s buttocks, moving him deeper into her.

She directed him this way, pushing with her feet, making Data move faster and faster. Neara was holding her breath again, gasping for air in between. She slowed her pace, but pushed Data in with hard thrusts. With one final hard thrust, she flushed, her vagina spasmed, she let out an _oooohhhhh_ , then waited until the spasms stopped.

Data thought she migh t  want him to pull out, but Neara st arted pushing him into her again.  First slowly, then very fast, then slow deep  thrusts  just as she had done before. And she had another orgasm.

She did this three more times, his buzzing increasing with each climax. She had him pull out quickly after the last one stating that she needed to calm down. She said he was making her crazy and she was becoming addicted to him. After assuring him those were very high compliments, Data lay back and held Neara, pleased with his ability to be in a successful romantic relationship.

The rest of the week was spent mostly in Neara’s quarters, but they did go to the holodeck where Data showed her Earth and Neara showed him Ahmria. Although she said the holodeck did not do it justice, and he would understand once he went there.

Neara said she liked to immerse herself in a culture, so their days were spent with her trying different human foods, listening to a variety of human music (she found she was particularly drawn to Earth’s late 20th, early 21st century music), and Data reading to her. He would quickly scan or download a book, poetry or otherwise, and then they would stretch out on the couch, Neara leaning back on him, and he would recite it to her.

And there was lots of sex, in many different positions, and a few different locations. Given the frequency, Neara’s favorite position seemed to be on top, or cowgirl as it was commonly known. And she wasn’t interested in positions she considered too gymnastic. She enjoyed sensual pleasure and liked to take her time. She used different items, brushing a feather gently over his skin and face, wearing velvet gloves and rubbing his body, running a vibrator over his erogenous zones, massaging him with oil or powder, running her nails lightly over his skin, or gently brushing his hair. She was giving him so many new experiences, all so very pleasurable, all with the buzzing in his brain.

On their third day together, they were cuddling on the couch when Neara got up and said, “It is common for Ahmriana,” Data learned that things were Ahmrian, but the people were Ahmriana, and perhaps he should correct the crew on this point, “to dance every evening. It energizes us. May I dance now?”

“Of course,” Data was curious to see Ahmrian dancing.

Neara had been listening to human music and chose a song she liked, Brian McNight’s “This Must Be Love” and started to move. She mouthed the words along to the music (he later noticed she did this most of the time while dancing). Neara danced until the chorus and then leaned over him on the couch and whispered, “May I move you?” Data assumed Neara was asking him to dance. “Yes,” he replied and got up.

Then the strangest thing happened. He started moving without sending any directions to his body. He was truly being moved by Neara. It was incredible.

They danced like this until Neara said, “Now you move me.”

“I cannot do it like you do,” Data informed her.

“That is fine, just do as you do,” Neara assured, and Data danced with her as he had learned for Keiko’s wedding.

She chose three more songs to dance to, Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire,” James Ingram’s “Baby Come to Me,” and Al Jarreau’s “After All,” all very romantic music, and she would move him and he would move her. With the last song, she was kissing him and moved him into the bedroom.

At the end of the week, Data got to talk with Neara’s family. They apparently had a regularly scheduled weekly chat. Since they spoke very little English, Data got to use the Ahmrian he had learned.

It was quite late in Ahmria, but the family Neara had spoken of were all gathered together on the screen smiling at them. Her tahtee (original giving being in Ahmrian, or original parent – her mother in English) Leyna, was in the center. A very handsome woman with a calm strength and confidence to her. Her uncle Jossa was to one side, a jovial man with a large frame, which was unusual for lighter-boned Ahmriana. Her teenage cousin Seyta was looking between their shoulders with a happy grin. Her younger brother Yara was to Leyna’s other side, his two ka’sha, Erda and Pata looking over his shoulders. Erda was exotic, with her midnight blue skin and light indigo hair in tight curls cut short to her head with the same color eyebrows and eyelashes. Pata had golden hair and a dust of light indigo color to his skin.

Yara was captivating. When he looked at Data, even through the screen, it seemed as though nobody else was there. As if Data were his only focus. Data started wondering what it would be like to touch his face, to touch his lips, to kiss his lips. Then he realized he was thinking this and found the whole of it fascinating.

Neara’s family spoke and laughed and smiled and were very warm and friendly to Data. They asked him questions, as he did them, to get to know each other. They were genuinely happy to meet him and were happy Neara and Data had found each other. She was a long way from home, and they felt it made her absence more bearable to know she was with somebody so lovely. They thought Data was charming and called him a beautiful being.

They ended the call with an Ahmrian wave. The fingers on each hand were together, thumbs out to the side. They pressed the index, middle finger, and thumbs of each hand against each other and shook them over their heart, pushing the shake out away from their body towards the other person.

For humans, meeting the family was an occasion of significance. This seemed significant to Data, being so warmly and readily accepted by Neara’s family.

It was the last night of their week together. Since they were dating now, Data knew he would need to change his quarters to accommodate Neara’s needs so she could stay over with him and Spot could come home. They would be stopping at a starbase in two weeks, and he would have his quarters modified at that time. Perhaps Neara would move in with him. He did not know if it was too soon to ask, but he found Neara’s behavioral responses differed from a human’s. Whereas a human might take measured steps with a partner, Neara immediately commenced an immersive relationship with him. Perhaps he should get advice from Counselor Troi before asking.

They were lying in bed together, and Neara was showing Data how to ka’sha touch. She placed her right hand on Data’s left cheek and placed his left hand over hers. Then she placed his right hand on her left cheek and placed her free hand over his. Neara looked deeply into his eyes and he felt an energy flow between them. She stroked his cheek a couple times with her thumb and then released, still gazing at him.

“I love you, Data,” she said earnestly.

“You realize, I cannot love you back,” Data informed her.

“Do you want to love me back?” Neara questioned.

“Yes, I do, but...” Data was about to tell Neara it would not alter his ability to do so when she interrupted him.

“Then anytime I say I love you, or anytime you wish you could love me, you should say, ‘I want to love you.’ This is telling the universe your desires, to say this. It has power and magic,” Neara explained. “When you say you cannot love me back, you are telling yourself and the universe this, and it places a block. You must always say what you want. You must say, ‘I want to love’ and it will follow.”

“I want to love you, Neara,” Data declared. Then Neara pulled him close and kissed him.


	8. Return to Duty

Data was dressed and ready for duty when Neara came up and kissed him deeply.

“Oh, I wish our week was not over!” Neara reached under her skirt and came up with a moist finger. She rubbed it delicately on the bottom of one and then the other of Data’s nostrils. He breathed in and her scent filled is airways. “Something to remind you of me during your workday.”

Neara turned him towards the door and gently pushed his back, “Now you must leave before I do not let you go.” Data left quickly, because if she stopped him, he knew he would want to stay.

Before going to the bridge, Geordi requested Data’s help in engineering.

“Good to have you back,” Geordi greeted him. “I didn’t see you or Neara out during the whole week. Seems like you took that time to get to know each other very intimately.”

“Yes,” Data confirmed, “we had sexual intercourse fifty-seven times and I gave her oral pleasure…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Geordi interrupted, “you really shouldn’t be telling me that stuff, or anyone for that matter.”

“Oh, I am sorry, I did not realize,” Data apologized, “Thank you for informing me.”

They started their work and Geordi couldn’t help but think, _fifty_ _-_ _seven_ _times_ , _good thing he’s a machine!_

Once finished in engineering, Data went to the bridge.

“Welcome back,” Riker grinned, and Picard nodded his greeting.

“Thank you, sir,” and Data took his position.

They were on course to the Galaxon galaxy to plot a nebula. Twenty minutes later, they had arrived and the measurements began.

“What readings do we have for the Goras nebula?” Picard directed his question to Data. Data did not respond.

“Mr Data,” Picard prompted.

“I am sorry Captain,” Data apologized, “I appear to be having a reverie.”

Riker chuckled. Picard’s face soured, “Kindly keep your reveries to your personal time Commander.”

“Aye sir,” Data complied, and gave Picard the readings.

Picard looked ahead thoughtfully, then got up and walked towards his Ready Room. He turned and said, “Number One,” and Riker followed.

Picard sat on the edge of his desk and sighed, “I’m not one to pry into my crew’s relationships,” Riker had told Picard why he had given Data the week off, “but I have found that when Data starts acting out of character, there is reason for concern. What do you know about this Neara Na Ahta?”

“Not much,” Riker conceded. “Her records are sealed and Starfleet instructed us to give her anything she wanted. She said she wanted to help, so I placed her in engineering.”

“There are members of Starfleet who might seal records in order to facilitate certain covert actions,” Picard pondered aloud. “Do you think Neara Na Ahta could be a possible plant by Bruce Maddox? Maddox has been keen to experiment on Data, and she was quick to insinuate herself into his life. Do you think she could be working for him?” Picard asked.

“I don’t know Captain,” Riker professed. “She did seem genuinely interested in Data, but I suppose that could have been professional interest… But I really don’t think so.

“Guinan knows her somehow though. She came to the table and thanked Neara. Neara said it was for some help she gave and dropped the subject, so I have no idea what it was about. You’d have to ask Guinan. And she also sees Counselor Troi, so she might be able to give you more insight.”

“Thank you Number One. Would you please send Counselor Troi in?”

Riker nodded and left the room.

Moments later, Troi entered. Picard walked around the desk and took his chair and motioned Troi to sit opposite.

“What can you tell me about Neara Na Ahta? I understand you’ve been counseling her,” Picard questioned.

“I haven’t counseled her,” Troi corrected. “She’s been seeing me for energy healing, I suppose you’d call it, to heal a psi injury she received before coming here.”

“Psi injury. What kind of psi injury?” Picard inquired.

“I don’t know,” Troi admitted. “She hasn’t elaborated. What’s bothering you Captain?”

“Data just acted oddly and it happened since meeting her,” Picard explained. “I’m concerned she might be in league with Bruce Maddox to experiment on Data without his knowledge or consent.”

“I don’t feel any duplicity from Neara,” Troi assured the Captain. “Her interest in Data feels romantic. Intensely romantic, in fact. Due to her psi damage, I feel she is strongly drawn to Data with his lack of emotion. He feels calming and healing to her. I don’t feel anything else other than the typical Ahmrian desire to help.”

“Thank you Counselor,” Picard dismissed Troi and she left.

Although somewhat assuaged, Picard would feel better if Neara Na Ahta’s records were unsealed. He would try and use his clearance to get them.

Picard asked the computer for her records and gave his clearance. The computer responded, “The records are kept at Starfleet Central Command and are only available in person with clearance level Alpha Zero from Admiral Davison and Admiral Topengi in conjunction.”

That clearance level was unheard of in Starfleet. The mystery deepening, he decided to speak with Guinan.

Guinan was in Ten Forward chatting with a patron. She saw Picard and greeted him warmly, “Hello Captain. What can I get you?”

“Some information would be appreciated,” he replied. “I understand you know Neara Na Ahta. What can you tell me about her?”

“Well, I know _of_ her – I don’t know her personally,” Guinan clarified.

Picard waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, he prompted, “What do you know of her?”

“She asked me not to talk about it,” Guinan stated.

Picard wouldn’t ask anyone to betray a confidence, but he needed more information, if possible. “Her records are sealed at the highest clearance level, and I’d like to have some information about this stranger aboard my ship. Is there anything at all you can tell me?”

She thought for a moment and said, “In Ahmria, she’s known as a Weaver. And being Ahmriana, she’s here to help. Her people believe that the entire purpose of life is to change the harmonic for the good. If she’s here for any reason, it’ll be that. You have nothing to worry about Captain.”

Picard had learned to trust Guinan implicitly. Although it went against his instincts, for now he would put aside his concerns and wait to see if the good she spoke of revealed itself.


	9. Dating Life

Neara flew from engineering to the turbolift she knew Data would come off of shortly. The doors opened and she had to hold herself back – it wasn’t Data but another crew member. She waited and this time it was him. She flung herself at him rapidly kissing his face. He looked somewhat startled, but then pleased.

“I nearly jumped on the unsuspecting person riding this lift before you!” Neara laughed. “I suppose I could say all Ahmriana are like this – they would never know.”

They started towards Neara’s quarters, Data walking and Neara floating in front of him facing him. “Perhaps it would be an enjoyable surprise for them,” Data speculated.

“Was it an enjoyable surprise for you?” she asked.

Data thought for a moment, “Yes. You bring me many enjoyable experiences.”

“That is good you think so, because I have more enjoyable experiences planned for you when we get home,” Neara smiled and kissed him.

When Data wasn’t working the night watch, their time off duty was spent first making love, then eating, then doing an activity together such as painting or reading or watching a movie or playing music, then dancing, then Neara wanted to make love again before going to sleep. Spot would curl up and purr and sleep with them. They made love each morning before leaving for duty. Neara said that was more important than eating, but she did eat on her way to engineering.

Data was becoming very accustomed to Neara’s sensory input patterns. He looked forward to seeing her when he came off the turbolift, he looked forward to making love and dancing and being together. He enjoyed watching her sleep and touching her gently while she was sleeping. It was very intimate – more intimate than he had ever been with another being. It seemed as though something profound was stirring inside him, just out of reach.

Today Data was going to see Neara in engineering when he went to help Geordi with a project that would need Data’s speed. When he got there, Neara was hovering by an open ceiling panel, and she gave him a beaming smile and a wave. He waved back.

Jenna D’Sora was sitting at a station to monitor the project and shut things down if necessary. “Hi Data,” she said.

“Hello Jenna,” he greeted.

“OK Data, I’m going to need you here,” Geordi directed. “I’m going to have Neara make adjustments to the flow capacitors and you’ll need to quickly adjust the flow modulators to compensate so the system doesn’t crash. I think we can boost output performance by twenty percent with this adjustment.”

“Everyone ready?” he asked. All replies were affirmative. “OK Neara, you can start now.”

Neara had her arms way up in the panel and started adjusting. Data was moving at lightning speed.

“Neara, I will need you to slow down,” Data requested. Geordi looked on, astonished. He looked to see how fast Neara was moving, but her hands weren’t visible inside the panel. “I need you to slow down more,” he requested again. “A little more,” he paused, “that will do.”

The adjustments continued for fifteen minutes and then they were done. “Wow, I expected that to take over an hour. I didn’t know Ahmriana could move so fast. Good job everyone!” Geordi said in stunned acknowledgment.

Neara floated down and took Geordi’s arm and raised it in the air. She said, “I saw this in a human movie. They hit hands and cheer in celebration.” She high-fived Geordi and started cheering. She continued cheering and went to Data and raised his arm and did the same, then ran around the console cheering to high-five Jenna. Jenna couldn’t help but laugh.

She came back to Geordi and said, “I also saw this,” and had him make a fist and fist-bumped him, then pulled her hand away, spreading her fingers wide and making a sound, _poaawwhh_ , feigning an explosion. They both laughed and she went to Data then Jenna doing the same thing.

She cheered again when she was done, arms waving in the air, spinning in a circle. Jenna and Geordi were laughing and Data was looking on in wonderment. She stopped spinning and laughed with them.

“Alright, we have finished early. Does that mean we can go off duty early?” Neara asked Geordi.

“Yeah, that’ll be fine,” Geordi agreed.

“Let us go, ka’lee,” and she took Data by the hand and they quickly left engineering.

“She seems really nice,” Jenna said wistfully.

“Yeah. She’s a bit of a nut,” Geordi chuckled, “I like her. You can leave early too if you want,” and he turned and went back to work.

Later in the week Geordi chided Data, telling him he needed to come up for air and maintain his friendships. Neara agreed they should go out and see friends, so they made plans to meet them in Ten Forward.

Geordi, Riker, Troi, and Dr Crusher were all there. Crusher knew Neara because Neara had agreed to have her physiology examined. It was proving to be a fascinating study for Crusher, given Ahmriana’s advanced psi and harmonic manipulation abilities. The information would also be helpful if the Federation ever needed to medically treat them.

Geordi was bent over the table confidentially, telling Riker about the fifty-seven times Data and Neara had intercourse in their first week together. Riker looked amazed and impressed, “Wow, it’s a good thing he’s a machine!”

“That’s exactly what I thought!” agreed La Forge.

Neara and Data came in hand-in-hand. Neara was wearing a long dress with a high slit exposing one leg as she walked. Her leg was covered in beautiful artwork – a vine with exotic flowers and leaves snaking around her leg up under the dress.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Riker gestured to her leg admiringly.

“You like?” she asked. “Data did it. It goes all the way around,” and she proceeded to hike up her dress showing the vine snaking over her buttocks. The others were a bit embarrassed, but Data and Neara didn’t notice. They went to sit down.

“This is the second one he has done. The first was an Endoran Phoenix,” Neara described. “It went from my left hip across my belly stretching over my right breast. It was quite beautiful. It lasted for a week before fading away.”

“It makes for a challenging canvas,” Data explained. “I have to make certain the art doesn’t warp objectionably with body motion. Her breast was particularly challenging, because Neara was lying down while I was painting her, and I wanted to make certain the tail feathers would translate whether recumbent or upright. Also if her nipple was erect or not.”

“Holy sheesh,” Riker muttered and rubbed his forehead with his hand. The others were equally flustered and fidgeted in their seats.

“What is wrong?” Data asked.

Neara looked at the group and turned to Data. “You make them think of sex,” she explained under her breath.

“That was not my intention,” he asserted.

“I know,” she said and patted his hand. “Let us talk of other things. Do you get back to your home planets very often?”

The subject successfully changed, they conversed easily and laughed often. Neara had an effortless sexuality that Riker knew was totally lost on Data. When her fingers were sticky she had Data lick them off, the body painting was certainly her idea, and her lack of inhibition was punctuated by her obvious lack of underwear. She touched him sensually and often, looking at him like he was the most marvelous thing she had ever seen. Sometimes she looked at him like she was mentally undressing him and thinking about the things she was going to do to him. Yes, it was all totally lost on Data… the lucky guy.

Neara got up to get another drink and Crusher said to Data, “Things seem to be going really well for you and Neara.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “I believe I found a species who are compatible with me.”

“A species, not just Neara?” Crusher asked.

“I have spoken with Neara’s family on more than one occasion,” Data explained, “and they find me charming and say I am very beautiful. And Neara has informed me that any Ahmriana would find me attractive because they are attracted to good and kind beings. So I extrapolate that I could have a successful relationship with any Ahmriana.”

“You might not want to tell her that Data,” said Troi, “she might think she wasn’t special to you.”

“Who would think they were not special to Data?” Neara had returned in time to hear the tail end of Troi’s comment.

“They are concerned you would not feel special because I extrapolate that I could have a successful relationship with any Ahmriana,” Data explained.

“Yes, he is right,” Neara agreed. “He could have a successful relationship with any Ahmriana. This is so, but I am here first. Ha, ha!” she mock laughed and the rest couldn’t help but laugh along at her blithe reaction.

The group found it interesting to watch Data and Neara together. They were so different and yet similar. She was free and happy and he was contained and placid. But like Data, she would become confused by human behaviors and customs. She looked to him for guidance, which made sense, given Data had gone through a learning curve himself. Although this also meant if Data was unaware of a situation, they would both carry on equally clueless. Neara also didn’t use contractions, but the group wasn’t sure if she had difficulty with them or if she was picking that up from Data.

Food was brought to the table and instantly Neara’s spoon floated up and went to Geordi’s plate, scooped up some food, and flew to Neara’s mouth. She went to do the same thing to Riker’s plate and Data put a hand on her to stop her.

“Humans do not take food off each other’s plates,” Data instructed.

“No?” she paused, then laughed, “I am sorry. I am still learning.”

“That’s alright,” Geordi assured, “we’ve all had to learn about other cultures.”

“But may I ask, how do you know what you like if you do not try many items?” Neara questioned.

“You try them over time, and eventually you get to know what you like,” explained La Forge.

“Is much easier to try many at once, but I learn patience along with culture!” she laughed.

During their conversation, they discovered that Ahmriana loved to dance. “Why don’t you have an Ahmrian dance party?” Crusher suggested. “You could program the holodeck as a dance club and invite the crew.”

“They would like that?” Neara asked.

“Yes,” Troi answered, “I think they would really enjoy that.”

“I haven’t been dancing in a long time,” Geordi commented. “I think that would be great!”

“Alright then,” Neara declared, “I will do it.” And she planned a dance for seven days’ time.

In keeping with their commitment to see friends, Data had scheduled a chess match with Captain Picard. They were leaving the bridge and Data said he would retrieve his chess set and bring it to the Captain’s quarters when Picard said, “I’ll come with you.” Picard thought this would be a good opportunity to get more information.

“I understand you’ve been dating Neara Na Ahta. How did you meet?” he asked.

“I met her when she was doing work on the bridge,” Data replied.

“And you saw each other again and decided to go on a date?” Picard questioned.

“No. When we met on the bridge, she asked me to show her the ship and meet my friends, because she did not know many people. I did so that same evening. Afterwards, she asked me on a date for the following evening. We have been a couple since then,” Data informed.

“She’s from Ahmria,” Picard observed. “How did she end up here? It’s a long way from home.”

“Neara said she did work for the Federation and they owed her a favor. She wanted to see the universe, so she thought a galaxy class ship would be a wonderful experience. She did say she offered help so she would not just be along for the ride,” Data elucidated. “She did not want to be treated as a pampered passenger.”

“What work did she do for the Federation for them to owe her this favor?” Picard inquired.

“She has said it is classified. I am certain you could find that information yourself Captain, if you are interested,” Data assured. Little did he know not even Picard could access her records.

They arrived at Data’s quarters and Picard waited as Data went into the other room to fetch his chess set. He rounded the corner and Neara pounced on him.

“Hah, I surprise you!” she rejoiced as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him repeatedly.

“You did not surprise me,” Data informed between kisses. “I heard your heartbeat.”

“Oh, you cheat!” she goaded.

“I did not cheat,” Data defended, “it is the way I am built.”

“And you are built very nicely,” Neara cooed and stroked his back. “I know you are to play chess with your Captain, but I thought perhaps we could have a quickie before. That is what humans call it, ‘a quickie’?”

She went to pull his pants down and Data stopped her, “Captain Picard is already here, waiting in the front room.”

“Oh,” she laughed, “no quickie.” She walked into the front room and Data grabbed his chess set and followed her.

Neara smiled and reached out her hand in greeting, “Hello Captain Picard. It is very good to meet you.”

Picard had heard their entire interaction and felt a bit uncomfortable, but quickly pulled himself together. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Na Ahta,” he said and shook her hand.

“Neara is fine. I will leave you to play your game. Goodbye ka’lee, I will see you tonight,” and she gave Data a lingering kiss then flew out the door.

Data and Picard followed. Picard was disappointed, she left before he had a chance to ask her questions. Perhaps there would be another opportunity, sometime soon.

During the week, Neara went to see Counselor Troi for her harmonic healing session. She had missed the week before, spending her time with Data. But she was still weak, and the sessions were necessary and a great help to her. She knew she was fortunate that someone with psi ability was on the ship. Most humans would not have the necessary strength to raise the correct vibrations. When she first started with Deanna, she had to instruct her on what she needed. Now Deanna was able to perform the vibrations with skill and ease.

They greeted each other warmly, then Neara lay on the couch, shoes off, and closed her eyes. Deanna started by holding her feet, drawing the energy down Neara’s body. Then she went up and touched her head, drawing the energy there. She went back down and drew a line with her hands up the center of Neara’s body, then stretched her arms wide in a circle and drew her hands up Neara’s body again. She did this three times. Deanna then went down to Neara’s root chakra and placed her mouth about five centimeters above it. She sang a very low aahhh sound over it until she ran out of breath. Then she moved up to the sacral chakra and sang a higher pitched aahhh over it. She moved up all seven chakras, raising her pitch, until she was at the top of Neara’s head. She sang a high pitch into the crown of her head, and Neara lit up with a beautiful indigo-aquamarine glow. It was the same color as her eyes, Ahmrian blue, as the artists now called it.

Deanna started again with the first chakra and went through all the vibrations a total of three times. When she got to Neara’s crown, she made the vibration and waited a minute. Then she placed both hands over her crown and gently blew on them. The glow rippled and started to fade. Then she went to Neara’s feet and held them until the glow faded completely.

“Oh thank you Deanna, I feel much better now,” Neara complimented.

“You’re very welcome,” she replied warmly. “I missed you when you didn’t come last week. I quite enjoy doing your healing – it’s such a change from what I normally do.”

“I know I need it so I have to tear myself away,” Neara said.

“It’s like that in a new relationship,” Deanna said understandingly. “Even though I’ve been married to Will for two years, I can still remember the feeling.”

“And perhaps you can even feel mine?” Neara asked.

“Yes,” Deanna laughed, “I can definitely feel yours.”

“I know, it is crazy. I will come in one day a babbling idiot, you will see,” Neara confided. “Data studies everything I do and remembers exactly what I like and exactly how I like it. He touches me in one place, and then sees how I like it – if I like it more than another place, how hard or soft I like it, how long to touch. He does this with _everything_. He makes me feel so good, and is making it better and better, eventually my head will explode in orgasm, and that is how I will come in a babbling idiot, drool out the side of my mouth. Enjoy me as I am now, because I am not certain how long it will last.”

“Perhaps I should have Data speak to Will,” Deanna suggested. “Becoming a drooling idiot sounds really good right about now!” And they both laughed.


	10. The Dance

It was the night of the Ahmrian dance party. Wesley Crusher was back for a visit from Starfleet Academy and, earlier in the day, kindly helped Neara program the holodeck as a dance club. All the crew had been invited, and Neara hoped that many of them would come. She missed dancing with her people and was really looking forward to the evening.

She entered the holodeck with Data, Wesley, Beverly, Deanna, Will, and Geordi. She had personally asked Worf if he wanted to come, but he declined. He said he did not dance and would work the night watch.

Neara had chosen only human music, as the majority of the crew were human. A control pad held the various selections, and she placed it on a ledge beside Wesley. The group was standing around in a circle when she told Wesley he could go ahead and choose the music. He picked a song, Rihanna’s “This Is What You Came For” and Neara and Data started dancing. He was used to dancing with her in the evenings. When the song stated, “but she’s lookin’ at you,” Neara went to Deanna who was standing beside her and began dancing with her, twirling her around. Deanna started laughing and enjoying herself. When it went to the next, “but she’s lookin’ at you,” Neara went to Will and did the same, and so on around the circle. The group was now smiling and laughing and dancing with each other.

Then people began to arrive. Neara flew over, took them by the hand while greeting and talking with them and led them in, dancing with them as she went. She would take turns twirling them around and they would smile and laugh. More people arrived and she did the same thing. The room was filling up.

Neara was like an infectious butterfly, spreading joy and laughter as she flitted from group to group, dancing with them, then welcoming more people into the holodeck. Data was captivated, watching the effect she had on others, while he danced with his friends.

Wesley was continuing to DJ and Neara came back to their group. The song he had chosen was rather raunchy, Sisqo’s “Got To Get It” and when he heard the lyrics, he looked embarrassed. Neara pointed at him, “This is _your_ music. Human music. I find lots like this, so there is more. Very sexy eh?” and she winked at him. And indeed, along with the lighthearted music, there were also songs with suggestive, or downright explicit, lyrics.

Neara was dancing with Wesley when she heard Geordi talking to Will, “Oh, there’s Jenna. I wasn’t sure if she was going to come. She was feeling a little awkward since Data’s dating Neara, but I told her it would be OK.” Neara knew Data had previously dated a woman named Jenna, and she looked over to see. It was the same woman she had met the other day in engineering working on the project with Data. She instantly flew over to her and her male companion.

“I am an idiot. I did not put together you were the Jenna that dated Data,” she exclaimed as she hooked her arm through Jenna’s and led them into the holodeck. “I would say he has good taste in women, but then I would compliment me as well, ha ha,” then she laughed with Jenna in earnest.

Geordi and the group looked on, curious as to how the interaction would go between the two women. Neara brought Jenna and her companion to a spot with some room to dance. Jenna seemed a little uneasy, but then Neara started dancing with her. It was different than how Neara had danced with the other crew, she looked like she was flirting with her. And Jenna looked like she was being flirted with – a little nervous, shy, giddy.

After dancing to one song, Neara stroked Jenna’s face and smiled and said something. She placed the companion’s hand in Jenna’s and then moved on to dance with another group. Jenna was left with an elated smile on her face.

Data watched the interaction. He knew that most of Neara’s relationships had been with women. He asked her if this was because she had a preference, and she had responded that women tasted better. This seemed as good a reason as any for sexual inclination. He had no particular orientation, but given the prevalence of heterosexual humans in Starfleet, he reasoned he would have a better chance finding a relationship with a woman. And this proved to be true.

That being said, he did ask Neara if she would prefer him in a woman’s body. She told him that his was the face she fell in love with, and she did not want to change that. She was very happy and, as it was, he had no particular flavor, and that would not change regardless of gender. She assured him she would have wanted a relationship with him no matter what sex, if any, or body type, depending on the being he was. She knew they would have found ways to demonstrate their desire and please one another. But she seemed very satisfied with his body, his soul’s packaging as she called it, which was good, because he had become accustomed to it. Still, he hoped she would not eventually leave him because she missed the flavor of a woman.

Later in the evening, Captain Picard came in with Guinan. He wasn’t going to come because he didn’t dance, but Guinan had a way of getting him to do things. He stood with her and shuffled in place – that was as much dancing as she could expect from him.

Neara flitted over with her beaming smile and greeted them. She started dancing with Guinan to Outkast’s “The Way You Move.” When the song got to the lyric, “now they got me in the middle feeling like a man whore,” Neara and Guinan sandwiched Picard between them. He was not amused, to begin with. Because as Neara started dancing with him, he became joyful. He couldn’t explain why, the feeling just grew in him. She danced with Guinan some more and then flitted off, but the joyous feeling remained. Maybe this dance would be better than he expected.

When the Vanessa William’s song “You Gotta Go” began, Neara went back to dance with Data. Data had become a very proficient dancer of late with their daily dancing. When she moved him, he learned every motion. He was now able to anticipate her moves without the need of her psi instructions.

They twirled around the floor and people made space for them and looked on. They looked like figure skaters without the need for ice, they moved so fluidly. They spun so fast, then Data would lift Neara and slowly bring her down. She could of course fly, but she enjoyed the feeling of being lifted. It was a novel sensation for her. Sometimes Data would spin her down to the floor, and she would let gravity take her. Data would stop her fall millimeters from the ground. It was exhilarating. The dance ended and people applauded. Neara was not expecting that. She laughed – humans were funny.

Everyone continued dancing, Neara going around the room taking turns joining them. Guinan was marveling at the sight, “We’re so lucky to have a Weaver on the ship.”

“What do you mean?” Picard asked.

“Just look,” Guinan gestured to the room. And Picard looked and saw a happy gathering. A very happy gathering. A jubilant gathering. And Neara was in the center of it. Was Neara changing the harmonic for the good?

“Are you saying she would come on board the ship just to do this?” Picard asked. “It doesn’t seem enough of a reason.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Guinan agreed, “but it certainly is a nice side effect.”

The song “Wake Me Up” by Evanescence began playing and Neara floated up above the crowd. Data had seen this before, Neara was letting herself be taken over by the music. She said her whole family did this when they heard a song that moved them. They let themselves be possessed by it.

Data watched with everyone else as Neara flew, first elegantly, her arms outstretched, her garments flowing. Then powerfully flipping, turning, cartwheeling, spinning to the floor stopping before she hit. Then floating up towards the ceiling like she was floating on water. It was amazing. When the song finished, people clapped. And Neara laughed again at how funny humans were.

Dancing continued and it was finally time for the last dance. Neara decided on Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm” and took Data by the hand and had him take Deanna’s hand and Deanna take Will’s hand and so on until there was snake of people on the dance floor. She went under the arms of a link in the snake and the rest followed her through, everyone laughing. She did this a couple more times and then went to the tail and held hands to form a circle. She moved her arm up and the next person moved their other arm up and then she put her arm down and the rest followed. The circle became like one undulating being – a ripple flowing across it. They put all their arms in the air and walked into the middle of the circle, then put their arms down and walked backwards. The did this twice more and then put their arms up with a cheer and released hands.

The dance was over.

Everyone started leaving, all with smiles on their faces, chatting happily. Neara went to get her control pad. She said her goodbyes and thank yous to people and waited until the holodeck was empty. Picard, Guinan, Data, and Neara were the last to leave.

She chose the song “Magic” by Olivia Newton John and floated in front of Data facing him as he walked down the hall, Guinan and Picard following. The control pad was hovering beside them and they were staring deeply into each other’s eyes, Neara’s arms around Data’s neck and his hands on her waist, as she mouthed the words to the song.

“Ah, so that’s why she’s here,” Guinan observed. “I’m glad she’s doing something for herself. She deserves it.”

Picard looked on but didn’t understand what Guinan was seeing. Did Neara come all this way just to be in a romantic relationship with Data?

“I don’t understand. Why is she here?” he asked.

“Just listen. And if you still don’t understand, you soon will,” Guinan replied in her cryptic fashion.

Guinan waited, and then looked over to see Picard’s confused face. “Don’t worry,” she assured him, “it’s all good. Very, very good.”


	11. In the Groove

Jenna D’Sora saw Counselor Troi at a table by herself in Ten Forward. She went over and asked, “May I join you?”

“Please do,” Troi invited.

“I know you’re not on duty now, but can I ask you something?” she said hesitantly.

“Of course,” Troi consented.

“When I see Data with Neara, I wonder if our relationship didn’t work because of me. Do you think it was my fault? Perhaps I should have been more understanding,” she reflected.

“Relationships are built on compatibility. It’s neither of your fault if you weren’t compatible,” Troi counseled. “Didn’t you break up with Data because of his lack of emotion?”

“Yes,” Jenna agreed, “and I do need that in a relationship. But how does Neara deal with it? She seems so happy – it makes me think I was doing something wrong.”

“This is something more, isn’t it? I sense you’re feeling a bit hurt,” Troi perceived. “It can be difficult when someone we had close feelings for moves on. But don’t let this make you second guess your decision. You will find an individual who is right for you. Somebody compatible, someone with emotions. Data managed to find someone, and I didn’t know that he ever would. I assumed if he did, it would most likely be a Vulcan who wouldn’t want emotion. But with you, I have no doubt you’ll have your choice of partners.”

“Thanks Deanna, I needed to hear that,” Jenna admitted. “But in all honesty, _how does_ Neara deal with it? She’s definitely nothing like a Vulcan.”

“You would have to ask her, because I have no idea,” Deanna admitted and looked up. “It looks like you have your chance right now. Here she comes.” With that, Neara walked up to the table.

“Hello Deanna, hello Jenna! May I join you for a moment?,” she asked and they nodded their approval. “It is good to see you both,” she greeted.

“Hello Neara,” Troi greeted back. “Jenna and I were having a discussion. We were wondering, how do you manage with Data’s lack of emotion?” It was a very direct question, but Troi knew Neara well enough to know it wouldn’t faze her.

“I do not mind,” she replied. “He does many things to show me he cares.”

Jenna followed Troi’s lead and spoke candidly to Neara, “But the things he does are logical. It’s not done from feeling but cause and effect.”

“But if the effect is to make me happy, he is choosing the behaviors that will make me happy. And is that not what we do in relationships when we care? He may not be able to feel it, but his actions show me this,” Neara answered.

“When I was with him, I asked him what he was thinking of, and he told me about so many different things and I was only one in many. I just couldn’t deal with that. How do you do it?” Jenna asked.

Neara thought for a moment and said, “I see it differently. For myself, when I go through my day, there are times I do not think of Data at all. I will be focused on a task and poof, he is out of my mind. But he _always_ thinks of me. There is never a time he does not think of me.” She continued conspiratorially, “I should tell him he is obsessed! Ha, ha,” she mock laughed, “but he would not understand the joke.”

They all laughed, and Jenna realized Neara was definitely a good fit for Data. She saw things in a way Jenna never could.

“So the fact that you can never say anything to make him happy or sad or touch him in any way doesn’t bother you? Because it made me feel like I didn’t really matter to him,” she related.

“Well, he wants to feel,” Neara shared, “so I must be patient. It is a work in progress. I work to make those connections. And I believe, one day, they will turn on, because he wants it so.

“But for now, I must be content to wear a groove in him. He says he becomes accustomed to sensory input patterns and misses them when they are gone. So I do everything in my power to make him miss me terribly if I were gone. I do things over and over and over. And I make certain they are very pleasing, joyful experiences. This is the way I create a deep connection with him.

“And with that, I must go. I have to meet Data at the turbolift. I must keep to my schedule if I am to deeply chisel this groove,” she demonstrated by running the side of one hand over the palm of her other. “Sorry I could not stay longer. I will see you both later!” she waved as she quickly flew out of Ten Forward.

Data and Neara had been dating for a month. While at the starbase, Data had his quarters refurbished for her. He had decided he was going to ask her to move in with him.

They were in Neara’s quarters when Data said, “I have something I would like to show you. We need to go to my quarters.”

“Oh, a surprise!” Neara exclaimed happily and followed him over to his place.

When they got there Neara said, “Ka’lee, how wonderful!” Data had installed a bathroom with a large bathtub and a little kitchen area. Neara had mentioned she missed the smell of cooking food, so he thought this would make her happy. He had moved his work space into a separate room so it was no longer open to the living area. He had remodeled that area into a bedroom.

Neara came over and hugged him, “I hope Spot is not too confused when she returns home.”

“Neara, would you and Spot come home together? Would you move in with me?” Data asked.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes!” she said between kisses. Data was pleased, yet again he had correctly gauged Neara’s response.

Neara had invited Riker and Troi over for a dinner party to try out her kitchen. Her mother had sent Ahmrian delicacies over and she knew Riker liked to cook. She thought he might enjoy helping her make a meal with Ahmrian ingredients.

When Neara moved in, Data kindly told her she could put her things anywhere and change whatever she wanted. She did not have many things – Ahmriana were not a materialistic people, and she preferred things clutter-free, like Data. But she did put pictures of her family on the table below the painting of Lal, and she did place candles by the bathtub. She liked candlelight when she took a bath.

The only room she cared about was the bedroom. She found Starfleet furnishings too spartan for a room she considered should be luxuriant. She replaced the bed with a dark wood four post bed and added beautiful jewel-color brocade bedding. She placed a wing-back chair in the corner. It would be a good alternative spot for lovemaking.

Deanna had come by shortly after Neara moved in to give her a housewarming plant. She was impressed by the bedroom. Neara explained for the times they wanted it, she needed a place to tie up Data or to be tied up. She did not understand what other people did. Perhaps they did not play sex games.

Riker helped prepare the meal. They chatted and laughed. The food was excellent and the smells were heavenly.

After the meal they sat in the living area and Neara pulled out a box and passed it to Deanna. “We have a gift for you both,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Deanna relented and opened the package. She pulled out two sets of sheer shorts and tops, one in Riker’s and the other in her size.

“They have velcro on the sides, so when you feel greedy you can have the other put them on and tease you, and then you can tear their clothes off with a satisfying _rip!”_ Neara smiled mischievously.

Riker grinned and laughed, “Well that is a very thoughtful gift!”

“I like to give useful presents,” Neara said seriously, and then Deanna and she broke into laughter as well. Data did not understand the humor.

Neara cued up a song, “I am still listening to human music. I have found some very good ones.” She let her selections play randomly while they talked, and then Toni Braxton’s “You’re Makin’ Me High” started playing.

“Oh,” she touched Deanna’s arm, “this one says exactly what I feel about Data, except for two words. I would change ‘in spite’ to ‘because.’ Otherwise, they read my mind!” She got up to dance with him. “You two must dance as well. It is the custom to do so after a meal,” Neara instructed.

The lyrics were _very_ sexy. Will leaned in and whispered in Deanna’s ear, “I can see why you come back all hot and bothered after hanging out with Neara. She’s a very good influence.” Their sex life was on fire since Neara came on the scene.

The song ended and Neara brought them their box and bundled them towards the door, “And now it is time to go home and use your new clothing!” she ordered. They said their goodbyes and then Neara took Data by the hand into the bedroom.

They took off their clothes and Neara walked around the bed and pulled material out from under each corner of the mattress. Data saw that Neara had tied a length of nylon material low around each bed post. The end of the nylon was tied in a loop.

She spoke as she circled the bed, “I would like to play a game. A sex game. Sometimes I like to take another against their will, or have them take me against my will. Although it is not really against our will – it is only pretend, for the game. Like when you do acting.

“As you know, for Ahmriana, it is forbidden to take a another’s will, unless in defense. I believe this is why I like to play this game – something about it feels taboo, I think this is the correct word. Somehow it increases the sensation of being touched, the feel of another’s mouth, or being penetrated.

“For this game, I would like you to take my will. I would like you to tie me up and have your way with me, sexually. I like to use these nylon ties because I can easily slip out of them. I do not want to actually be restricted, I just like the feel and the idea of being taken. When the game is over for me, I will slip free to hold you.

“I do not need the game to have an elaborate premise. You can tie me up and begin. But if you would prefer a situation to explain why you are tying me up, we can do this.

“I do not want any violence or pain. It would be sex as we normally do, but with more greed and control on your part, for your role in this play. I will struggle and act as if I do not want this, but I will truly be very excited. You should hold me down some, but do not hurt me. Perhaps tell me that I cannot escape, there is nothing I can do so there is no use in struggling, you will have what you want. Or any other words to say you are in control and I am helpless against you.

“Would you be willing to do this sex play with me ka’lee?” Neara asked.

“Yes, it sounds intriguing,” Data would never have thought to combine acting with sex.

“We need a special word we say so if one of us feels uncomfortable, we say this word and the play stops. As an Ahmriana, I find the sound of the word ‘chicken’ very amusing. If one of us uses this word, it will instantly end our sex play. Is this word acceptable to you?” she asked.

“Yes, it is,” Data concurred.

“Alright, let our play begin!” Neara announced. “I will pretend you rendered me unconscious and put me in the bed. You can then move my arms and legs to put the loops around them. I will awaken once I feel you starting to play with me.”

She lay in the middle of the bed and closed her eyes. Data put the loops around her wrists and ankles. She was spread-eagle. He sat on the bed beside her and started caressing her body.

Neara opened her eyes and began struggling saying ‘no’ and ‘stop.’ He went to suck on her nipple and she quickly moved her torso to the side. He pulled her back and lay on his side across her, holding her down with his weight. He cupped her breasts and pulled them together sucking one and then the other nipple. Neara let out an _aawwhh_ sound. He knew she was very excited – she could not stop her hips from moving, however slightly. It was her tell.

He got up and caressed her again – she squirmed under his hands. He moved down between her legs. He went to put his mouth on her and she moved her hips quickly to the side. He dragged her back and lay his upper arms over her thighs, his forearms over her hips, holding her in place. He locked his lips on her, using one hand to massage her labia. She bucked against him sighing, “No, no.”

He decided to do some acting to see what response he got from Neara. “Ohhh, you taste so good. I just had to have you, and I am so glad I did!” with that he pushed his tongue inside her.

“Oohhh please help me,” she said in a breathless, aching voice. She was pulling against the ties. She was so wet and engorged – Data had never seen her this excited. He wrapped his mouth around her and fluttered his tongue. She had the most explosive orgasm, Data was concerned his neural net would overload with the powerful energy she released into him. A quick self check confirmed he was alright, then he crawled up to penetrate her.

Again, she struggled. He held her hips and told her, “This is going to happen. I have to have you. Just let me do this. I promise I will let you go when I am done.”

She whispered breathlessly, “Please let me go. Please let me go. Please let me go,” and he pushed into her. Her breath hitched and she let out a long _aa_ _aa_ _w_ _ww_ _wh_ _hh_ _h_ sound. He moved inside her, she was so wet.. so very wet. The buzzing in his brain was incredibly loud, drowning out every other thought. But there was something else there.. something wanting to break through. Then a wave washed over his neural net and lights burst behind his eyes.

A moment later, he could feel Neara’s hands caressing his back. She looked at him and gave a little laugh and a contented, sultry smile, held him and kissed him.

In the morning, Data was lying in bed gently touching Neara while she slept. He did this every morning they spent together. The only time he did not was when he was not yet back from night watch. He enjoyed the intimacy, her vulnerability and trust while sleeping.

During the six weeks they had been together, their connection kept deepening. His life was perfectly good before Neara, with friends, interests, and adventures. But now, his life included the joy and love that Neara brought, the new and exciting experiences, a closeness that came from near sensory input pattern overload. She was always in his thoughts. He would not wish to return to life without her. This must have been what Riker meant when he said, “When it really works between two people, it's not like anything you've ever experienced. The rewards are far greater than simple friendship.”

But Data knew the flip side to the reward, that Neara’s life was finite. Even if they spent her life together, which Data wanted, her sensory input pattern would eventually end. He pushed this thought to the side so he could focus on the limited time they had together.

Her skin was soft and smooth and warm. When she woke, he would stroke her breasts. Her nipples would soon pucker and her hips would start moving. He liked that he had that effect on Neara, that he could influence her moods and desires. He had been very successful with bringing her to a blissful state.

Neara would get up in the middle of the night to go pee, and upon coming back to bed, sometimes Data would fondle her breasts. Then Neara’s hips would start moving and she would remove his hand and, in a sleepy sexy voice, tell him to stop, she needed more sleep, and he was a wicked, wicked being. For some reason he could not explain, he enjoyed this interaction.

He was trailing a finger down her nose then around her lips, which were slightly open. He could feel her breath washing over his finger when it happened. He froze, his finger above her mouth.

Neara’s eyes fluttered open and she saw his hand there and took it in hers and kissed it. She rolled over to face him, smiling. When she saw his face, her smile dropped, “What is wrong ka’lee?”

Data took a moment to respond, “I.. I felt an emotion. I believe it was love.. love for you.”

“Oh Data,” Neara exclaimed, “what a wonderful first emotion!” She moved close and held him and kissed him.

“It only lasted nine point eight seconds.. but it was remarkable,” he marveled. “I think it was love, but I have no basis for comparison. How does love feel?”

“How about you ask Deanna that question?” Neara suggested. “I think it would be better if I concentrate on giving you more feelings, and she helps you decipher them.”

“Alright,” Data ceded, “but how do I get the emotion back?”

“It will come again,” Neara assured, “and it will be stronger the next time and last longer. And the time between feelings will become shorter. I know this will happen, you just need to let it go at its own pace.”

As they kissed, Data considered what she said and hoped he would not have to wait an additional six weeks before experiencing another emotion.


	12. Feeling It

“What was so urgent Data?” Troi asked kindly as they took seats across from each other. Data had requested to see her as soon as possible.

“Neara recommended I speak to you. I have just experienced my first emotion,” Data sat forward as he explained. “It lasted nine point eight seconds, and I believe it was love, but I have no basis for comparison. I was hoping you could help me interpret my feeling.”

“Data, that’s incredible!” Deanna enthused. “Tell me what you were doing and what thoughts went through your head at the time you felt this emotion.”

“It was in the morning and Neara was still asleep,” Data described. “I was in bed with her gently touching her face and lips. I do this every morning because,” he shrugged, “I enjoy the closeness – the fact that I am the one who can do this with her. When I suddenly felt a rush through my body. It was warm and wonderful and seemed to beam out of me and expand itself around her. And it came back around and encompassed me, and my body felt as if it was filling up, boiling over with… emotion. Love. The words I would use to describe it are admiration, adoration, awe, belonging, gratitude, a deep-seated connection,” he demonstrated by tapping the fingers of one hand a couple of times into his solar plexus. “She was so beautiful, I felt as if I were going to burst open. And then the feeling vanished. Does this sound like love Counselor?”

“I would have to say, this sounds like a very _profound_ feeling of love Data,” Troi concurred. “For your first feeling, I’m amazed at its depth. Especially as it was only seconds!”

“Neara had suggested I tell the universe that I wanted to love her, instead of preventing it from happening by saying I was unable to feel emotion,” Data shared. “Although it was only a momentary feeling, this technique was the only thing I have done differently. Empirically, it appears to work. I will test it further by asking the universe for other feelings. If, through this process, I am able to experience other emotions, I would appreciate your help interpreting them.”

“Of course Data,” Deanna agreed. “This is an amazing development for you on your journey to humanity. I really do hope your technique works and you’re able to have many more good feelings,” and she patted him on his knee.

Data left Troi’s office and went to see Keiko to get the appropriate food for Troi’s housewarming plant. O’Brien was in the greenhouse with her keeping her company while eating his lunch.

“Well there’s the lucky winner!” O’Brien intoned.

“I do not understand,” Data responded, confusion etched on his face. “I did not win anything.”

“He’s kidding Data,” Keiko explained. “He’s talking about you being the lucky one to be with Neara.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, I am very fortunate,” Data agreed.

“Indeed you are,” O’Brien stated.

“She had a lot of suitors when she came on board,” Keiko elaborated. “I lost count of the number of crew members who offered to show her the ship.”

“And she did not go with any of them,” Data stated.

“No, she went with them,” Keiko informed. “I even heard she gave one of them a passionate kiss, but nothing more happened. Must have been waiting for you,” she said, nudging him with her hand.

“But when I first met Neara, she said she had not seen the ship,” Data was again confused. “She asked me to show it to her. Why would she do that?”

“Oh you clueless sod,” responded O’Brien. “She obviously liked you and was using it as an excuse to spend time with you.”

“But should I be concerned that she lied during our first interaction?” asked Data.

“You should take it as a huge compliment that she was interested enough in you to go through another boring tour,” he chided.

“Why did she not simply ask to spend time with me?” Data wondered.

“Well Data, most people would be uncomfortable with that level of directness. She was probably just trying to make things less awkward,” Keiko explained. “And that way, if you hadn’t been interested, she gave you an out. You could have told her that you were too busy and everyone would have saved face. No hurt feelings.”

Neara obviously did not realize at the time she need not use such social conventions with him. But she certainly was much more adept at human interaction than he was. He could definitely learn a lot from her.

Data came home to find Neara getting dinner ready.

“Hello ka’lee!” she chimed as she flew over and give him a big kiss. “How was your day?”

“It was informative. I understand that you lied to me when we first met – that you had already seen the ship,” Data probed.

Neara covered her mouth with her hand, “Oh no,” she smiled, “you found me out! But it did work – you did go out with me.”

“You did not need the subterfuge,” Data posited.

“I know that _now_ , but I did not know that then,” Neara jokingly defended.

“I also understand you passionately kissed a crew member,” he stated.

“Who has been talking to you?” she laughed. “Yes, Brian Dunbar. He has face hair and Ahmriana do not have face hair. I wanted to know what it felt like. I did not like it. I am glad you do not have face hair.”

“I did grow a beard once, but did not get the reaction from the crew I expected. I decided to remove the facial hair,” Data shared.

“I am glad you did. You have a beautiful face, it would be a shame to cover it up,” Neara said as she stroked his cheek. “Now, if there are no further discoveries, let us eat before the food gets cold!”

As they sat to dine, Data reflected – were there further discoveries to be made?


	13. Ahmriakana

Neara came back to bed and spooned up against Data. Neither of them were on duty for the next couple of days, so they were able to spend the morning in bed together.

“I can tell my flow will start soon,” Neara stated. “I think they call it ‘period’?”

“You mean you are due to menstruate?” Data asked.

“Yes, Ahmriana women menstruate for three days every four months. The flow can be rather heavy, so I do not like anything going up inside of me as things are trying to come out,” Neara explained. “So I will not desire penetration, but I would still like to make love to you.”

“We can do whatever makes you feel good,” Data said obligingly. He of course knew all about menstruation but had no intimate knowledge of the process. He was curious and excited to have yet another new experience with Neara.

Data started fondling her breasts and her buttocks began gyrating against his crotch. “Perhaps I should have penetration now. It may get the flow started,” she suggested and reached back to touch his face.

Data got an erection and Neara reached down and held it against her genitals, masturbating on it. She stroked against him until she was slick with excitement and placed him against her opening. He pushed in and her body flushed, she let out a slight sigh. Her reaction always thrilled Data – he was amazed he held such sway over her bodily pleasure.

He wrapped one arm around her, his hand cupping her breast. The other was between her legs rubbing her clitoris. He was moving inside her rapidly, the way she liked in this instance. Data had learned, depending on the position, and even during the act, Neara liked different speeds of penetration. He kept going until he felt her orgasm around him, the sensation washing through him and over his neural net.

“I love you, Data,” Neara murmured passionately as she turned her body to kiss him.

“I want to feel love for you again Neara,” Data responded as he kissed her tenderly.

While Neara went to Troi for her psi healing, Data went to see Dr Crusher. He found her in her office examining some cultures.

“Do you have a moment Doctor?” he asked.

“Sure Data, come on in,” she responded. “What can I help you with today?"

“Neara has told me she is about to start menstruating. As her mate, is there anything in particular I should do for her?” he inquired.

“Oh, right,” Crusher recalled, “you’ve been together for two months now, so that would fit with her schedule. Well, women are all different, Data, and she’s the only Ahmriana I know. You’ll just have to follow her lead on this.”

“For human women, my research indicated there may be some pain or discomfort during menstruation and potentially some emotional variation due to hormone fluctuation. Is this correct?” Data asked.

“Well, it is correct for human women,” Crusher confirmed, “but again, Neara is the only Ahmriana woman I know, so I couldn’t say. If she has any pain, she can come and see me and I’ll help her with it. As for her mood, you’ll just have to be understanding and caring.”

“I have not noticed any emotional changes in Neara. Perhaps Ahmriana women do not experience them,” Data posited. “If she has pain, I will suggest she sees you.”

“And if Neara decides she doesn’t want to menstruate, I can perform a procedure to remove the lining. Most of the women on the ship do this on a monthly basis, unless they are planning to get pregnant,” Crusher offered.

“Ah, I will let her know this is an option for her. Thank you Doctor,” Data acknowledged and left.

Neara and Data were lying on the couch together, and Data was reciting poetry to her when Neara popped up to go to the bathroom. When she returned, she brought a tissue with her.

“See, my flow has started,” and she showed Data the tissue covered in Ahmrian blue.

“Is that the color of your blood?” Data asked.

“Yes, it is full of Ahmriakana, or 'kana for short, as is everything on the planet. It gives us the color of our eyes. It flows through every living thing there. Some Ahmriana have more receptors in their skin for Ahmriakana and that is why they have different depths of blue,” Neara explained.

“Ahmriakana. ‘Ahmria loves you,’” Data said.

“That is its literal translation,” she laughed. “Nice, yes? The planet loves us and gives us life.”

“It is beautiful,” he proclaimed.

“Ahmrian blood is very sweet. I would like you to give me oral sex and you will taste it then. I will see you with blue beard!” she said with a little laugh and a mischievous smile.

“And you have experienced blue beard yourself?” Data questioned.

“Yes, many times,” she confirmed as Data lay her back and lifted her skirt to experience it for himself.


	14. Novel Experiences

Picard had a dinner to celebrate Guinan’s birthday. He had invited her friends, which included the senior staff and Neara.

The meal had ended and Picard had just poured everyone a glass of port from his vineyard. They were small port glasses and Neara, not understanding, downed her glass in one gulp.

“Oh,” Picard explained to Neara with some concern, “you’re meant to sip it. Would you care for another glass?”

“Alright,” she accepted, “I will sip this one.”

The group had been talking for a few minutes and were now conversing about their favorite planets on which to holiday when Neara turned to Data and asked, “What is happening?”

He looked at her, not understanding, and was about to say so when she asked again, a little woozily, “What is happening?”

He touched her arm and looked on in concern when, with a bleary-eyed gaze she slurred, “What.. is.. _hap-pen-ing_?” and let out a raucous laugh.

Data turned to Dr Crusher for assistance and she said, “It seems Ahmriana intoxication levels are much lower than a human’s.”

Neara turned to Data and questioned, “What is intoxicaca-caca-caaaahh?” and laughed raucously again and slumped her head and one arm on the table.

“Perhaps you should take Neara back to your quarters Data,” Picard suggested.

“Of course Captain,” Data obliged and gently helped Neara get on her feet.

“Make certain she gets plenty of water to flush the alcohol out of her system,” Crusher instructed Data. “And let me know if she gets a headache, and I’ll come give her pain medication. Also let me know if there are any other symptoms, because we don’t know the effect alcohol has on Ahmriana.”

Data nodded his acknowledgment.

“When she’s recovered,” Picard started, and Data turned to look at him, “please let her know I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this aspect of Ahmriana physiology.”

“I will let her know Captain,” Data stated, “although I am certain she would not hold you responsible.” As they spoke, Neara floated up and grabbed onto Data’s back and wrapped her legs and arms around him in a piggyback hold.

“Ha, ha, ha! I have you now,” she said in joyful drunkenness and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“We will go. Goodnight Captain. Happy birthday, Guinan,” Data congratulated.

“Thanks Data,” Guinan replied with a smirk.

“Goodnight,” Data said with a nod of his head to the rest of the group.

“We’ll walk back with you,” Deanna stated and Will and she both bid farewell to the birthday gathering.

They were following Data out the door when Neara leaned back, one arm out like a bronco rider, tossing kisses to everyone saying, “Goodnight, beautiful beings! Goodnight!” Deanna and Will grinned at each other and stifled their laughter.

A few paces down the hallway, Neara floated off of Data’s back and put her hands on his shoulders. She started somersaulting over him with a long yell, “W _heeee_ _e!_ ” When she was above him her hands switched places. Then she swung down to face him, falling into him with a solid impact, wrapping him with her arms and legs.

She looked at Data with a drunken gaze and ran her fingers through his hair, “I loooove you. You are woooonderful,” and started kissing him. “I want to make sex with you,” she said in a husky whisper and started reaching down his pants.

Data pulled her hand away, “Perhaps we should wait until we are in our quarters.” Deanna and Will were again trying to hold back their laughter at Data’s obvious discomfort dealing with his overly amorous mate.

“Oh yes,” Neara recalled, “’humans do not have sex in public.’ That is what you tell me. Except I see it on video. They must only do if being filmed. Deanna, Will, can you film us so we can make sex please? Ha, ha!” she cackled, and Will and Deanna started laughing.

“This would be an inappropriate situation in which to film copulation,” Data informed.

“Listen to the way you talk,” she said as she stroked his lips with her finger. “You are so sexy,” she drawled and started kissing his lips then down his neck.

She was busy trying to pull his shirt up while he kept pulling it down when he said, “We are here.”

“Wooonderful!” Neara responded.

They all said a quick goodnight and as the doors closed they heard Neara command, “Throw me on the bed and tear my clothes off!” with a peal of hysterical laughter.

Geordi and Data were hunkered over a table in Data and Neara’s quarters. They were working on a model USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Geordi planned to give Scotty when he saw him next month.

Neara had been listening to music when she suddenly stopped, as if some internal alarm clock had sounded. She knelt down, sat on her ankles and leaned forward, placing her palms on the floor in front of her. She chanted, then drew her arms wide in a circle singing a single _a_ _aahh_ _h_ _mm_ _m_ as she completed the circuit. She did this two more times. Then she sang and held the notes of a many-layered harmonic.

Geordi was mystified, “What is she doing Data?”

“This is the Ahmrian daily  universal betterment ritual,”  Data explained. “They call it R i aka.  The rest of the Ahmriana will be performing it at the same time in order to improve the vibration of the universe.”

“ Wow, it’s a lot just listening to her now. It must sound incredible on Ahmria,” Geordi speculated.  Data raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement – he had not considered this.  They went back to their model.

A few minutes later, Neara finished. She went back to her music and after an hour, she got up. “Would you like something to eat Geordi? I am going to make a soup with Ahmrian vegetables if you would like to have some,” Neara offered.

“Yes, that’d be nice Neara. Thank you,” Geordi accepted.

Neara got water and sang over it, the pitcher vibrating in her hands. She poured it in a pot on the stove and went about chopping vegetables in her little kitchen. She was humming then started singing. Data sang along with her as he worked on the model.  Neara was singing the melody and Data the harmony, the notes weaving in and out of each other,  the dulcet tones  creating a n air of tranquil ity .  Geordi noted the song kept repeating the phrase,  _soo na_ _h_ _see_ .

The song finished and Geordi compl i mented, “That was beautiful.  Is it a traditional Ahmrian song?”

“It is a lullaby,” Data answered.

“That’s why it was so peaceful. What does  _soo na_ _h_ _see_ mean?”  he asked.

“ It means ‘I would die for you,’” Data translated.

“Sounds kinda bleak for a lullaby,” Geordi observed.

“ It is considered the highest profession of love.  Ahmriana find it comforting  to know  their parents love them to this degree,” Data  informed .

“ Yeah, I guess I can see that,” Geordi acknowledged  and continued working.

Neara interrupted them with bowls of soup, and Geordi hesitantly took a spoonful. “ This is wonderful!” he exclaimed.

“ It is full of Ahmriakana, the energy of our planet. It is very good for you. I am glad you enjoy it,” Neara said.

Geordi greedily ate,  then had another bowl while he happily constructed  the model with his friend.

D ata had accompanied Neara to Sick Bay so Dr Crusher could draw her blood. The Ahmrian a Prime Healer had  made this  recomme ndation because the replicators could not  create Ahmriakana.  If there was an emergency, Neara would need  th e life-saving energy in her blood.

She was a bit weak from the experience,  and Data made certain she got home safely. She  was resting  on the couch  with Spot in her lap , headphones on, quietly humming, tapping on  a tablet.  Data assumed she was searching for more music. He was practicing his violin for an upcoming concert  while thinking of a new food supplement for Spot, analyzing the collected works of Johann Sebastian Bach,  reviewing the Ahmrian lexicon,  completing a critical review of current  temporal theories,  and recalling his last intimate encounter with Neara.

Neara got up, gently placing Spot on the couch, and came over to Data. He put down his violin and she held him. “Remember how I told you I cannot play poker because I cheat? I can hear or see the thoughts of others  when they concentrate hard – they push into my head ,”  Neara prompted. “I just heard your thought..  one of your thoughts, about when we were last together.  Let us go for a walk in the arboretum. I would like to talk to you more about this. ”

They held hands as they  silently walked there. The arboretum was busy, and Neara took them to a quiet location.  She turned to him, and they held each other. “ In many systems of thought, they say to still the mind. This allows one to hear the hushed messages of the universe,” Neara informed. “Your mind is very busy. While this is you, and I would not wish to change you, you might like to open yourself to new experiences.  I suggest you  stop everything but your necessary processes and allow yourself to  just feel and experience the current moment.  Focus completely on what is happening between us right now. ”

Data had never done this before.  His many thoughts became muted during their sexual encounters, but he had  never purposely  stilled his thoughts.  He nodded his agreement and shut down all extraneous processes and focused on Neara.  She ran the fingers of one hand slowly up his arm, up to his face. She cupped his face with both hands, then gently ran her fingers through his hair. She cupped his face again and drew him in for a kiss.  It was tender and passionate, and he could feel her pressed against him,  the warmth of her,  her softness,  the movement of her lips on his. He was hyper-aware of every sensation.  Turning off  his processes had acted like a  lens , allowing him to focus in and fully experience each minute detail.

As the kiss ended, he felt her breath wash over him. They looked deeply at each other. He saw every nuance of blue in her eyes, the way they looked at him so lovingly, the gold luster of her hair, the curve of her lips. She kissed him again. It was as if they were swept away, just the two of them.

Their lips parted, and they stared into each other’s eyes.  She was love, pure love, beautiful, magnificent.  Then the strangest thing happened. A sensation, like movement, and yet they were standing still. And then everything moved around them, the people, the plants, the light, but it was  in some way different. The motion was  unusual , as if they were viewing it through a bottle.  It was somehow fast and slow at the same time.  The sounds muffled, then faded into nothing.  There  were just the two of them,  disconnected from the world around them.

Data’s limbs felt heavy. When he went to move them, it felt as though he were moving them through  deep water .  He stopped. Neara gave him a slight smirk of a smile then looked at him with awe and adoration.

“ This is incredible,” Data marveled.

“ Yes,” Neara agreed, and they stood, staring into each other’s eyes.  They dare not move  or speak , lest they break the spell. They stood silently, taking in the moment,  the moment their love had brought into being .

Eventually, a feeling of moving out of water  in to breathing the  surrounding air  carried them back to the  present .

Data could not help it, all his systems came back online to analyze this new experience.  “ What just happened?” Data  queried .

“You know what happened. We were standing outside of time, ka’lee,” Neara answered.

“ How is that possible? How did we do that?” he probed.

“I do not know,” she admitted. “It is very rare  and precious when it happens. We must cherish this event.  Who knows when it will happen again? ”

“ I would very much like it to happen again,” Data asserted.

“I know La’Ma.  I as well.  Just keep practicing stilling your mind, and I am certain it will happen again,” Neara assured.  Then t hey walked slowly back to their quarters,  arm in arm,  the effects of the experience still lingering in their bodies and psyches .

It was another lovely evening together. After dinner, Data had painted the backs of Neara’s hands and the tops of her feet. She was sitting on the couch with him admiring his artwork when she said, “I have found a very inspiring piece of music to dance to tonight. Just sit there and I will dance for you.”

She stood up as the first beats of Nine Inch Nails “Closer” played and slowly walked behind the couch. She leaned over with a hand on his chest and whispered in one ear the first lyric, “You let me violate you.” She whispered in his other ear, “You let me desecrate you.” She flew around the couch and bent over him and whispered, “You let me penetrate you.” With a ruffle of his hair she mouthed, “You let me complicate you.”

She danced sensually in front of him until the lyric, “I wanna fuck you like an animal,” at which point, she straddled his lap and rubbed her crotch against him to the beat. When the music changed, she leaned back and took Data’s hands and rubbed them over her body. She sat up when the lyrics started again, slowly gyrating on him. She sniffed up his neck and mouthed the lyrics, “It’s your sex I can smell.” And when the lyrics returned to, “I wanna fuck you like an animal,” Neara pumped her crotch against Data again.

There was a raw energy pulsing in the air. When the lyrics ended, Neara floated off Data to the floor. She was on her knees, touching herself suggestively. Data had the stirrings of some feeling he was at a loss to describe.

A few beats later, Neara reached out her hand to Data and pulled him to the floor with her. She crawled on her hands and knees, Data following. He was on his knees behind her, and she reached back and helped him pull down his pants. She hiked up her skirt and lay on the floor pulling Data onto her.

She was in his head, directing his body. She was wet with desire and he penetrated her. He lay on her and grabbed the hair at the base of her neck, turning her head slightly to the side. His teeth clamped onto the back of her neck, to the side and just below her skull, with a very firm but not hard bite. His hand wrapped around her shoulder to anchor him while he penetrated her with deep, hard thrusts.

He felt a wildness within him – a wild need for her. He feverishly fucked her until they both climaxed. The burst in Data’s brain danced and shimmered and pulsed through his body – it was the most intense orgasm he had felt. At least, that was what he had come to know as his orgasm.

He rolled off Neara then held her and kissed her tenderly. The wild emotion had left his body when he climaxed, but he wanted to examine it with Counselor Troi to fully understand what it was. As he gently caressed Neara, she began quietly snoring in his arms.

The next day, Data was in Counselor Troi’s office. Four weeks had passed between Data’s first emotion and his second one. It seemed Neara was correct. The interval between emotions had shortened, and the feeling was more intense and lasted much longer – two minutes and twenty-three seconds. That was only measuring the wild portion of the experience. The emotion seemed to build beforehand while watching Neara dance and crawl on the floor. He was eager to talk with Counselor Troi about it.

She came over and sat across from him with her tea. He began, “I have had another emotion.”

“I thought as much,” Troi surmised.

“It was very different from the first. It started as something vague and gained intensity becoming wild.. primal,” Data detailed. “Neara was dancing to a song with lyrics that said, ‘I wanna fuck you like an animal.’ She pulled me down to the floor with her and had me grab her hair, bite the back of her neck, and penetrate her from behind. And I found I did want to fuck her like an animal. I felt a desperate need to do so. What emotion does this describe Counselor?”

Troi was surprised at Data’s candor and the fact he had such a carnal experience. She covered it well. “It sounds like passion or desire. Specifically erotic desire. A raw sexual desire,” she opined.

“So is this what sexual desire feels like?” he questioned.

“Sexual desire can feel different depending on the circumstances,” Troi explained. “Just as a person will have different feelings depending on the activity they are doing, for example, working, caring for a child, or playing a sport. People’s feelings can also alter during the activity. For example, when playing a sport, one might feel determined, but if one is losing, they might feel dejected. So people’s feelings of sexual desire change based on the sexual encounter. It can be tender and loving, erotic and passionate, feverish and quick, raw and primal like your experience… basically any combination of feelings. And those feelings can vary during the course of the encounter, changing from one emotion to another.”

“I have much to learn about this,” Data reflected. “Perhaps this is why Neara has exposed me to varied sexual stimuli. She has recently introduced me to a game which involves one or the other being tied up and sexually possessed. When she ties me up, she fantasizes she belongs to a colony of women who are kidnapping young men to be sex slaves. She gets on top and straddles me during coitus, during which she repeatedly says, ‘Good boy. You are a very good boy. You feel so good, you are such a good, good boy,’ until she orgasms. What type of sexual desire is this?”

“Well, Neara would probably be able to describe it better for you, Data, but I would say, there are elements of passion, control, lust,” she mused. “It takes a lot of trust to play those sorts of games with another person. You definitely feel very secure with each other, and that’s truly wonderful.”

“Yes. Neara freely gives herself to me. When I tie her up, she has me hold her down and do what I want with her, sexually,” Data suddenly realized the depth of faith Neara had in him, how special that was. “Thank you for enlightening me to the trust aspect of these encounters.”

“You’re welcome, Data. Feeling that safe with each other, I’m certain you’ll continue to experience a deep and varied emotional life,” Troi asserted.


	15. The Proposal

Data and Neara had been together for four blissful months. Neara had known from the start that Data was her bonding ka’sha. She had sent her psi wave (as Data called it) across the universe in search of him. Well, she had not known it was him, but _someone_ or _ones_ with whom she would have that connection. After recovering, to a point, from her psi injury something in her felt compelled to find him.

She could have chosen not to – she knew what this decision meant. But it felt almost outside of her control. Now she could not imagine her life without him. She also knew she did not desire additional mates. This was good, because it would not be fair to them as Data and her connection was too close to include them equally.

Since they were bonding ka’sha, she wanted to have the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. It was a special ritual that was rarely performed. But she knew Data was attached to human customs – probably because not only was he humanoid, he also was found by humans, he lived and worked with many humans and, most importantly, his father was human. He always aspired to become more human, so he would definitely want to have a human wedding. Certainly they could do both ceremonies.

But was it not the human custom that one asked the other to wed? Yes, she had seen this in their movies. She would ask Data if he wished to wed her. But how should she do this? She wanted family and friends there, since it marked a special event for Data. Another step towards him becoming more human. Her family could watch on screen. She would invite friends to join them in the observation lounge where she would ask him. When she invited them, she would ask them to keep it a surprise and ask them if there was anything special she needed for this event. She wanted to do it soon, so she would schedule it five days from now.

The days passed quickly and the proposal date had arrived. All of their friends had gathered in the observation lounge, her family watching on a screen at the front of the room. It was suggested Neara supply champagne for a toast to the couple and some finger food, and she had done so. Neara told Data there was a special event she wanted them to attend, and they walked in, hand-in-hand, to the awaiting guests.

Data was surprised to see Neara’s family on the screen. Neara waved at them and they waved back. She smiled and nodded at the others in the room. Data looked around and saw all of the faces staring at Neara and him.

“I assume you now realize this special event is for us,” Neara smiled.

“Yes, it appears so,” Data observed.

She turned to him and held both his hands, “I wanted to ask you a very important question.” She paused, and then dove in, “Data, will you wed me?”

“You mean, will I marry you?” Data clarified.

“Aww _fatat_ ,” she swore in Ahmrian and stomped her foot, “I get it wrong! Yes, will you marry me please Data?”

“Yes, I will marry you,” he accepted with a smile and everyone cheered. Neara’s family were singing a celebratory chant that ended with z _a_ _z_ _a!_ , which was the Ahmrian word for hurrah, while Neara and Data kissed. Everyone then lifted their glasses and toasted the couple.

Shortly after, with joyful wishes and an Ahmrian wave, Neara’s family signed off. It was late in Ahmria and they did not speak much English. They had only wanted to be present for this important event in Data’s life. The rest of the guests were chatting amicably when Picard asked, “I realize you’ve just become engaged, but do you have any idea where you’d like to be married?”

“We had not previously discussed it,” answered Data. “I did not even realize Neara would want to marry. It is not done on Ahmria. But I assume Neara would want the ceremony there.”

“Oh, I have spent most of my life there,” Neara waved the idea off. “I would like adventure – somewhere different. Perhaps Earth? I have never been there. It would be exciting for me and my family.”

“Ah, a destination wedding,” Riker mused.

“Where would you go on Earth?” Crusher asked. “There are lots of lovely places to choose from.”

Neara looked to Data for suggestions, and he was formulating some answers when Picard spoke up, “Perhaps I can make your decision easier. I would like to extend my familial home, Chateau Picard, as the destination for your wedding. It would be an honor if I could provide it as my wedding present to you.” Picard’s brother had recently passed, their father’s will stipulating that the chateau would then revert to Jean-Luc. His sister in-law and nephew had graciously remained at the chateau to run the vineyard. They made regular visits to their extended family, so he was certain they wouldn’t mind leaving for a week if he asked them.

Data and Neara looked at each other, Neara with a big smile on her face. “Do you like?” she asked.

“Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea,” agreed Data.

“Then yes,” Neara happily answered Picard, “we gratefully accept your present.”

“In five months, we’ll have our scheduled maintenance at Earth. Do you think you’ll want to do it then?” Geordi asked.

“Yes, it is perfect!” Neara exclaimed and turned to Data. “See, this is meant to be. Things are working out already,” she said with a gleeful smile. Data smiled back – another milestone in his journey to becoming more human.

Neara and Data were back in their quarters together and had just made love. As they were holding each other, Neara discussed potential plans for their Earth ceremony.

“I would like to have the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. But I assume you would like to have a human wedding ceremony. So I thought we could have both,” Neara suggested. “We could have the Ahmrian ceremony the first day and the human ceremony the second day. Would that be acceptable to you, La’Ma?”

Data was not particular about what they did, but he had always envisioned a human wedding ceremony if he were to marry. He was also curious about the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. Having both would be a most unique experience. “I would appreciate having both ceremonies. I think that is a very good idea Neara.”

“Wonderful. Now that is settled, do you have any thoughts on a familial name?” she asked.

“Seeing as I do not have a last name, would you like me to take Ahta?” Data questioned.

“There are many Ahtas,” Neara reflected. “When children are named on Ahmria, they take the familial name of the parent whose name is least represented in the population. The next child would get the next least represented name and so on, depending on how many parents there were and how many children were had. That way, the familial names always stay in the ma’ta, the record.

“You are unique in Ahmria, and I think you should be represented in the ma’ta. I realize in human custom, when it is a woman and man pairing, many wives take the familial name of their husband. As you know, Ahmriana do not change their names. But I believe in this instance, I should follow the human custom and we should have a new name that represents us as a family. I was thinking we could use your father’s last name, Soong.”

“That seems logical,” Data agreed.

“But it would not work as an Ahmrian name, because its vibration is not open and giving – it does not end in _ah_. So I suggest we be Na Soonga. That way, it will be a combination of the two of us. A true representation of our new family in the ma’ta,” Neara proposed.

“I think that sounds fitting. I quite enjoy our new name,” Data concurred.

“Data and Neara Na Soonga. I like it!” Neara said with a smile and joyfully kissed Data.


	16. Days of Lore

He had made it to the cargo bay of the Enterprise, his plan going without a hitch. He released the latch on the hidden compartment at the bottom of the container and crawled out. Lore stood, examining his uniform – an exact replica of Data’s – and smoothed the fabric.

Lore had last seen his brother when Dr Soong’s homing device summoned him to Terlina III. He had left with the emotion chip intended for Data – a chip that had nearly cost him his life. It threatened to overload his neural net, and he barely made it to the ex-mining planet, Dutan 4, before he crash landed. He lay in the rubble for over two years, incapacitated by the emotional surges, before he was able to regain dominion over his body and mind. He then made his way to the abandoned mining settlement, and as he struggled to control the emotion chip, he knew what he had to do.

He used the computers at the site, retrofitted with components scavenged from the wreckage, to track the location of the Enterprise and to ensure Data was still on board. He had seen on the Enterprise manifest Data was sharing his quarters with a Neara Na Ahta. So Data had taken a mate. This would be easier than he thought. He looked up her record. Her photo was there, but the rest was sealed. Curious. He thought she would be a Vulcan, but she wasn’t. What other species would be with an unemotional hunk of machinery?

For months he kept watch, and when the Enterprise was finally in range, he put out the counterfeit call. Imitating her voice, he identified himself as Jessica Compton with Science Station Mezmar. They needed to do some drilling into the planet’s duplenium core, and they needed a specialized drill to do so. Starfleet had informed them there was one left on Dutan 4, but they were unsure of its condition. Since they were the closest vessel to that planet, would they mind picking it up and delivering it to Mezmar so they could try it out? It might save them waiting months for a new drill to arrive.

Picard had, of course, agreed. Lore easily placed the giant drill into the container in which he had created the false bottom. Then all he had to do was wait.

Once on board, he made his way quickly to engineering. He nodded to people who thought he was Data and walked purposefully into the engine room. He reached under his shirt and removed the concealed dion plate. He opened the required access panel and inserted it, disrupting the warp plasma flow. Now they would remain in orbit long enough for him to complete his plan.

He then walked to Data’s quarters where he would wait for Data’s mate. Hopefully Data wasn’t home and would not arrive first. If he did, Lore would improvise – perhaps hide and wait for an opportune moment.

It would be best if she arrived first, though. It would work perfectly for his plan, but he would manage with whatever circumstance was thrown at him. He had waited too long and worked too hard to let anything stand in his way.

He listened outside the door. He did not hear any noises from within. Good, no one was home. He went inside and did a quick reconnaissance. There was a cat sleeping on the couch, but otherwise no one else. It looked like the best place to hide, if necessary, was under the bed. How cliché.

He went back to the door and listened to the noises in the hallway, the device ready in his hand. He heard people walking to and fro, people talking, but no one coming up to the door. He heard voices in the hallway – two females. He heard them approach the door and he moved to the side of it. They came in and smiled at him and the rest happened in an instant. He immediately recognized them. The dark-haired one was Counselor Deanna Troi, whom he had met when he was on the Enterprise after being reassembled all those years ago. The time when his brother and the man-child shot him out into space. His burning hatred flared hotter than before. As her smile dropped, he grabbed for the blonde he knew was Neara Na Ahta and clapped the collar device on her. He squeezed it tight against her throat.

At the same moment, a shimmering bubble of energy encapsulated Neara, but Lore’s hand and forearm remained inside it. She was choking. She tried pulling the collar away from her neck.

Neara buckled. The pain emanating from this being was excruciating. His fractured emotions and intense anger stabbing at her like a million knives being driven into her flesh. This was not her Data, this had to be his brother Lore.

Her fear was confirmed when she heard Deanna say, “Lore, please let her go.” He lifted her off the ground, her fingers scrabbling at the band around her neck. She managed to pull it away enough to take in rasping breaths.

“Lore, you’re hurting her,” she heard Deanna say.

“Why don’t you just let my brother know I’m here,” Lore instructed.

Deanna tapped her badge, “Captain Picard, is Data on the bridge?”

“Yes Counselor,” Picard confirmed.

“Lore is here, in his quarters, and wants to see him. He has Neara,” she somberly informed.

Data instantly shot out of his seat to the turbolift, Picard following.

“Number One, you have the bridge,” and Picard signaled for Worf to follow.

They arrived, with two additional security contingent, and rushed through the door to Data’s quarters. “Neara,” Lore heard Data say as he reached for her.

“That’s far enough,” he commanded and they pulled to a halt. They saw Neara, suspended off the floor in Lore’s choke hold, a bubble of energy surrounding her with what looked like Ahmrian blue lightning dancing within.

“So this is your mate, I take it.” He turned her back and forth, examining her, “I thought she would be Vulcan, not.. whatever this is.”

“I am here now, ready to discuss your demands. Please Lore, you do not have to hurt her,” Data pleaded.

“You mean this?” Lore indicated Neara’s bubble of blue lightning with a sweeping gesture of his open hand. “This isn’t me… this is _aaalll_ her. Your _mate_ ,” he said, giving Neara a vicious shake, “ _seems_ ,” shake, “to _be_ ,” shake, “ _malfunctioning_ ,” shake, shake, shake, shake.

“Lore!” Picard raised his voice to get his attention. “If you expect us to cooperate, you must stop harming your prisoner.”

“I wouldn’t call her a prisoner, more of a bargaining chip. Or an insurance policy,” Lore clarified. “I have no intention of really harming her. Not as long as I get what I want. And that’s up to you, dear brother.

“You see, I had a near-death experience trying to control this emotion chip of yours. And it gave me an epiphany. Why should I struggle with substandard parts the old man gave me when there are perfectly good parts? In you.

“All I need to do is wipe your neural net and transfer mine onto it. Then I can put the emotion chip into the body it was designed for and _wallah_ , I’ll be a new man. And who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if your mate fell for me. I mean, I’d certainly be a ‘better half’ with my emotions!” Lore laughed derisively.

“How do you plan on accomplishing this Lore?” Picard asked. “You’re surrounded and we have no intention of giving in to your demands.”

“That really isn’t up to you Picard, that’s up to Data. You see, this nifty little device here,” Lore indicated the collar choking Neara, “is rigged with explosives. Not only can it be activated manually, and trust me I plan to keep hold of it as long as I need, it’s also linked to my neural net. So if anything happens to me, say if I were to be deactivated or my neural net were wiped – even if I were a little too far away from the collar – it will explode. So what do you say, dear brother, am I going to blow her mind, or are you going to cooperate?”

“What is it you need me to do?” Data asked gravely.

“Very good. I knew you would go along with this,” Lore said with glee. “That’s the problem with caring for these decaying chunks of animated meat. Well, that’s your problem at least, not mine. We’ll just wipe that defect away. It’ll be like Data 2.0, except you won’t be there to enjoy it.

“First I’ll need your chief engineer, since I can’t do the transfer on my own. And not to say I don’t trust you… actually, I _am_ saying I don’t trust you. I’d feel better using my own equipment with just the four of us there. I’ve got everything ready to go on the surface…” and Lore abruptly broke off as Neara flew backwards taking him out the door at speed.

“Damn you, sack of _shit!”_ Lore screamed as he held on and squeezed her collar tightly, attempting to cut off blood flow.

Neara was in agony. She knew she didn’t have much time before she blacked out. She saw Data and the rest running after her as she flew around the corner. She needed to get to the nearest transporter room. She had used up a lot of energy in flight, but she had just enough to create a psi doorway to the transporter pad. Once there, she used telekinesis to move the controls and they were away to the planet surface. As they left, she saw O’Brien quickly turn from the panel he was working on and look on in surprise.

“Where did they go?” Worf asked as they rounded the corner.

“Computer, what is the location of Neara Na Ahta?” Data inquired.

“Neara Na Ahta is not on the ship,” the computer responded.

Just then, O’Brien hailed, “Captain, Commander Data and Na Ahta just beamed down to the planet. It wasn’t authorized. I didn’t even hear them come in. I just turned around and they were on the pad beaming down. And Captain,” O’Brien hesitated, “Commander Data seemed to be garroting her.”

“That was not Commander Data, Mr O’Brien,” Picard clarified. “We’ll have to explain later. Worf, I’d like you to find out the exact coordinates where they beamed down. I assume they’ll be making their way to the mining settlement, and it would be helpful if they were delayed as long as possible. See what you can come up with.”

“If Lore is planning to use equipment at the mining station, perhaps we should destroy it,” Worf suggested.

“No,” Picard disagreed, “he’ll need a way to contact us. If the instruments were destroyed, we’d need to find him, and then he would expect to use the ship’s equipment to complete the transfer. If we didn’t contact him, we risk him thinking he was abandoned on the planet. He would most certainly kill Neara in that instance. We can’t risk that. We’ll let him contact us once he’s there.”

The senior staff converged in the conference room and Data began, “I believe Neara took this action to give us time to formulate a rescue plan.”

“I would agree,” Picard acknowledged. “Is there any way to sever the link between the collar and Lore?”

“If I were designing the device, I would have a modulating frequency converter with instructions supplied directly from my positronic matrix,” Data stated. “It would be impossible to determine the appropriate frequency with enough time to disable it.”

“Perhaps we could try and deactivate the explosives,” Geordi suggested. “We could use a mybarr wave. It works on a lot of them.”

“Too risky,” Riker said. “We have no idea what explosives he’s used. The wave could potentially trigger them.”

“And it might disrupt the frequency converter, producing the same outcome,” Data stated.

“Perhaps Neara’s electrical current is an attempt to short him out,” Troi offered.

“I do not believe so,” Data disagreed. “Neara seemed to be in a great deal of pain. I believe the current might be a response to that.”

“I think you’re right Data. In my research into Ahmriana psi abilities, Neara never mentioned an electrical current form of defense,” Crusher confirmed. “But perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way. Perhaps we should think about this like we did with the Borg, when Hugh was with us. Maybe we need to get to the point where Lore is connected to the equipment to make the transfer, and we implant him with a Trojan horse program.”

“That’s a good idea doctor,” Picard affirmed.

“Perhaps we could transfer Data’s ethical programming to Lore – make him rethink his actions,” Troi suggested.

“I believe, given this delay, Lore will expect a scheme against him. I believe we should give him this anticipated deception,” Data recommended.

“You mean, give him a Trojan horse program, but make it so he’ll recognize it. Then when he’s busy dealing with that, start the real program,” Geordi comprehended.

“Yes,” Data affirmed. Then they devised their plan of action.

Lore was dragging Neara across the ground by her collar. She was so weak, having used what little energy she could muster to take them to the surface. The only energy she had left was her desperate attempt to pull the collar away from her throat. He was incredibly angry now. Her psi wounds were so numerous, it was draining her life force away.

Neara was not sure why her protective sphere did not defend against Lore. Data and Lore’s construction must have been nearly identical – she could not think of any other reason. At this rate, she was not certain how much longer she could live. If she died, she would at least find satisfaction in the fact that Lore’s plans were thwarted and her beloved Data would survive.

Lore was dragging her quickly, making good time. When he crested the ridge, he saw a large and long water mass below. “Damn it!” he screamed and lifted Neara off her feet to show her the water. “Now we have to go all the way around _this!”_ he told her with a savage shake. “You’re gonna pay for what you did you stinking, putrid sack of _guts_. Just as soon as I have what I want.” Then he continued on, the ground ripping Neara’s flesh, trailing her in his wake.

They finally made it to the abandoned mining settlement. Lore dragged Neara over to the computer console and hailed a ship that was not the Enterprise. In the haze of Neara’s mind, she felt a stirring of surprise. Why did he not contact Data? Her mind tuned out as he spoke to that ship. She tuned back in when she heard Data’s voice, his beautiful voice. But her mind was very fuzzy, so weak – the sound of his voice comforted her.

She did not know how long she was out, but she awakened when Lore started hauling her across the room to the conference table. Equipment was set up at one end of it, ready and waiting.

The next thing she saw was Geordi beaming down with Data lying at his feet on the transporter pad. A sickening dread landed in the pit of her stomach. As if he could read her thoughts, Geordi quickly said, “Don’t worry Neara. We’ve put Data’s core memory into the ship’s computer. We’ll put him in Lore’s old body once the transfer is complete.”

Lore mocked, “Yes, don’t worry Neara. Everything will work out _perfectly_.

“Bring him over here,” Lore commanded, and Geordi dragged Data over to the conference table. “Put him up there,” and Geordi struggled to pull Data onto the table. He finally succeeded.

Lore took a chair beside the equipment, “Remember, don’t try anything funny. I’ve got hold of Data’s mate, and I’m certain Data wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would he?”

Geordi nodded his acknowledgment and started connecting the equipment, first to Data, then to Lore. “I’ll need to scan all your programs before we start so I can keep track and make certain everything is successfully transferred. Especially since Neara’s life depends on it all going without problems.”

“Alright,” Lore consented. Geordi started scanning and a couple of minutes in, Lore said, “I knew you’d try something. You thought you could implant an ethical program into me and get me to rethink my actions, didn’t you? You need to wipe that program right now before somebody gets hurt,” and he gave Neara a shake.

Geordi looked upset and defeated. He erased the program. Data had said that Neara’s life was more important than his own, and he didn’t want to put her at risk by pushing things, waiting to see if the ethical program would take hold.

The transfer from Lore to Data took some time, but was finally finished. It had gone successfully. “Now, the emotion chip,” Lore instructed. Geordi followed his directions and retrieved the emotion chip and placed it in Lore’s new body. He sat up, went over to Neara, released his old body’s arm and held onto Neara’s collar.

He pulled Neara and his old body over to the transporter. He threw his old body onto it and activated the controls, beaming the body away.

“What are you doing?!” Geordi yelled as he ran over to the transporter controls.

“Don’t bother trying to get it back. I programmed a scattered particle beam to diffuse the signal into space. You won’t be able to retrieve it,” Lore stated. “I told you you’d pay,” Lore said to Neara. “Two birds with one stone, because Data was due payback as well. And I think the punishment rather fits the crime, don’t you? I was beamed into space and now he’s beamed into space. Well, not him exactly, but the body he was intending to inhabit. Looks like your beloved Data is just a bunch of zeros and ones in a computer now,” he finished with a nasty smile.

Neara looked at the transporter pad, a single tear running down her cheek.

Lore changed the programming and beamed the three of them to the Enterprise bridge. Lore instructed Picard to take him to a destination inside the Romulan/Federation neutral zone. Picard did not want to agree, but he made Data a promise. Neara’s life was more important than his and Picard must do anything he could to ensure her safety.

They arrived at the destination and put shields up and went to red alert. There was a Romulan ship waiting.

“You’ll need to lower the shields and beam me to the specified coordinates on their ship Captain,” Lore instructed.

“I will do no such thing until Neara is freed,” Picard asserted.

“It seems we’re at an impasse,” Lore acknowledged. “If I release her, I lose my bargaining chip. You won’t beam me over, and you’d probably try to take me into custody. If I don’t release her, I’ll never get over to that ship.

“But I did plan for this contingency. I’ve just remodulated the frequency in my positronic matrix and the collar device is now on a countdown. Now instead of exploding if I am incapacitated or too far away, it will explode if I am not beamed to my specified coordinates within twenty seconds. It’s your choice Captain.”

“How do I know it won’t explode anyway, or you won’t explode it as you’re beamed away?” Picard asked.

“You don’t,” Lore answered. “But if I did that, I’m assuming you’d stop the transit and I would remain on the Enterprise. Once I’m on the Romulan ship, you’ll put your shields up, which will block my communication with the device. If you don’t beam me over in, well, ten seconds now, I’ll at least have some payback. Nine.. eight.. seven..”

“Beam Lore over to the coordinates,” Picard instructed…

Data sat up, got off the table and went over to Lore. He removed Lore’s hand from the collar and released the collar from Neara’s neck. She sagged to the floor, unconscious. He checked her vitals – she was alive, but her pulse was weak.

“Geordi, please take Neara to Sick Bay. I will follow you momentarily,” Data requested.

Geordi nodded and crouched by Neara, “Two to beam directly to Sick Bay,” and they were gone.

With Lore and Data still connected to the equipment, Data took Lore, the collar, and the equipment over to the transporter. He beamed the collar into space, where Picard confirmed its explosion. He then opened Lore’s cranium and deactivated him. Now he was able to discontinue his dream program, the one he was guiding to lure Lore into a false experience of victory. As an extra safety precaution, he disconnected Lore’s head from his body.

He then beamed back to the Enterprise and gave instructions that Lore needed to be disassembled. Afterwards, he quickly made his way to Sick Bay.


	17. Aftermath

Data arrived at Sick Bay to find Neara wailing and thrashing in pain. She was in constraints with an IV in her arm which was administering an Ahmrian blue fluid. Data assumed it was her emergency blood supply.

The sound of her wails triggered an intense panic in him – a new feeling which, under the circumstances, he wished he did not have. He was finding it difficult to keep it contained enough to function.

There were nurses on either side of the bed, so Data raced to the top and cupped Neara’s head in his hands. “I am here now Neara. I am here,” he attempted to comfort her. Her wails continued and he stood there in petrified helplessness.

“Data… Data!” Dr Crusher yelled. “I need your help.” Crusher’s words broke through his incapacitating panic, and he went over to help her.

Crusher was holding a screen with a woman’s face looking out at them, “I’m trying to talk to the Ahmriana Prime Healer, but she doesn’t know much English. Neara’s translated when we’ve been discussing Ahmriana physiology, but she obviously can’t help us now. Can you help us?”

“Yes, although I may not know the Ahmrian names for medical terms. It may take me a bit longer to translate those,” Data explained.

“Alright. Let her know I’ve given Neara an IV of the blood we drew from her last month. That improved her vital signs and woke her, but she’s in incredible pain. I’ve given her every pain medication we have but nothing’s working. What should I do now to help her?” Crusher asked.

Data relayed the information and waited for the response. “You will need Deanna Troi who has been doing harmonic healing for Neara.”

Crusher stopped Data and hailed her, “Crusher to Troi, I need you in Sick Bay immediately.”

Troi was on the bridge and hurriedly went to the turbolift.

Data continued, “You will need an additional five people. It would be best if one had a very low voice.”

Crusher hailed again, “Crusher to Worf, I need you in Sick Bay immediately.”

He left his station and joined Troi in the lift. “One moment,” Picard had them wait. “Number One, I’m going to see what’s happening. You have the bridge,” and he got into the lift.

Data proceeded, “It would be best if the voices went up the scale, so the Prime Healer suggests three females, one of them being Counselor Troi, and three males. The lowest voice will need to be at her feet, Counselor Troi should be at her head, the two females should be on either side of the chest area, one closer to her shoulder and the other closer to her solar plexus. The two males should be on either side of the lower body, one by her hip and the other by her knee. They should be staggered in a zigzag pattern. They will need to sing a specific harmonic – the Prime Healer will send a recording to us. She says you may play this recording as well, just place it above or on her solar plexus, although it will not have the required potency. It is only for additional support.

“There is a way to help Neara with her pain, but it requires singing several tones at once, some of them outside human range.”

From Crusher’s study of Ahmriana physiology, she knew of their staggering vocal range. A typical Ahmriana had a range of over six hundred tones and could sing many of them at once. Neara’s ability was far greater, she had a range of over fifteen thousand tones and could apparently sing all of them at once, although she had never had reason to do so.

“I may be able to help Neara with this at a future point, but I would need to redesign my voice box to accommodate the required range. The Prime Healer says the best and fastest way we can help her is to sing the harmonic she will send us,” Data instructed.

Crusher mulled it over, “Nurse Ogawa can help. And there’s me, so we have enough females. There’s Worf, and you…” Just then Troi, Worf, and Picard entered Sick Bay. “… and it looks like we have our third.”

While Data had been relating instructions, the Prime Healer recorded Ahmriana singing the required harmonic. She sent it to Data with further instructions.

“Counselor Troi,” Data directed, “you will need to begin your healing as you normally do, but instead of singing into her chakras, you will sing the note I give you into her third eye area. Worf, you will need to stand at Neara’s feet and sing into the soles, but keep your head aligned with Counselor Troi’s so there is a straight path for the harmonic.” Data instructed the others where and how they needed to stand, how they were to sing their notes, and then sang everyone their respective tone.

Deanna began by touching Neara’s feet, then her head, then she went back down to her feet and drew her arms up Neara’s body, spreading them wide and making a circle three times. Then she went to her head and placed her mouth five centimeters above it. She looked at Worf. He lined his vision up with Deanna’s and put his head very close to Neara’s feet. The rest leaned over Neara’s body, Deanna nodded and they began to sing. They sang until their breath ran out and then sang their notes twice more. Data then assigned them the next notes in the progression. They sang these three times, and so on with each tone Data allotted them.

With each harmonic they sang, Neara’s wailing became softer, until it was a whimper. Finally, she stopped whimpering altogether and her breathing deepened. She appeared to be sleeping. Twenty minutes later, they began singing the final tone, and Neara started glowing the palest blue.

“We need to do this six times daily until she glows the proper color, which you will recognize Counselor Troi,” Data stated.

“If we’re going to do this six times a day, this table will need to be raised. My back is killing me!” Picard exclaimed.

“I’ll treat everyone’s back pain. And I will raise the table in the future,” Crusher assured. Data had not even considered the issue, given the fact he did not experience back pain. He appreciated what they had done for Neara all the more.

“Captain, I need to take Neara to Ahmria for further healing. They can do more for her than we can,” Data explained. “Their Prime Healer informed me they can get to us faster than we can get to Ahmria if we meet them on the Masana moon. That is four days’ travel at warp five, whereas Ahmria would take twelve days at warp nine to reach. Would it be possible…”

“Of course Data,” Picard cut him off and hailed the bridge. “Picard to Riker, lay in a course to the Masana moon, warp seven.”

“Thank you Captain,” Data gratefully acknowledged.

Data stayed with Neara in Sick Bay, he did not leave her side. She remained unconscious for eighteen hours, during which time they had done three more harmonic healings. The crew had since gone off to sleep, and Data had lain beside Neara on the bed, gently touching her and stroking her hair.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she saw Data there. “Ka’lee, are you OK?” she asked, her mouth dry.

“I should ask you that. You have been unconscious for eighteen hours,” Data imparted.

“Eighteen hours… I know you do not lie to me, and yet it is strange. I do not feel the need to pee,” Neara mused.

“They have means of emptying a person’s bladder if they are unconscious or incapacitated. They just emptied yours,” Data explained.

Sick Bay was darkened, and Neara asked, “Where is everyone?”

“It is seven in the morning,” Data informed her. “They will be on duty in an hour. There is minimal staff at present, but I shall let Dr Crusher know you are awake.”

He went to tap his badge when Neara stopped him, “No, I will be fine until she arrives. Let her sleep. I need to talk to you.” She asked for some water, and Data held the cup for her as she sucked it dry through the straw. She turned on her side, gingerly and with his help, to face him, “Is this your body, or did you put yourself into Lore’s body? The last thing I remember is your body lying on the table and Lore shaking me. I must have blacked out.”

Data explained they did not place his core memory into the ship’s computer, but rather, used his dream program in order to fool Lore into thinking his plans had succeeded. The collar was beamed into space and Lore deactivated and disassembled.

“Thank you for the delay,” Data acknowledged. “It allowed us to formulate a plan of action. I have been wondering, though… how did you get from the hallway to the transporter room with Lore so quickly?”

“I do not remember everything, I was in such pain. Perhaps I used my telekinesis to work the equipment and transport within the ship. I just knew I needed to get away – off the ship,” Neara obfuscated.

“And the bubble of energy with the blue lightning surrounding you – what was that?” Data questioned.

“It is a protective sphere, like Ahmria has around it. It was not raised in time and could not keep him out, because Lore is too similar to you,” Neara explained.

Data had a multitude of questions regarding how her sphere worked, but Neara was very weak. There would be plenty of time to ask her about it later. He went on.

“The Ahmriana Prime Healer said we should take you to Ahmria. We will meet your people on the Masana moon. We will go to Ahmria from there,” Data detailed.

In recounting events to the Prime Healer, she had suggested Ahmria as a place to heal Data’s brother. She felt confident they could repair his damage and bring about a change in his being. Starfleet had wanted Lore for study, but as Lore’s only relative, Data felt it was for him to decide. The Prime Healer offered if in thirty years they could not improve Lore’s being, then Starfleet should try and help him. Data decided this was for the best and explained to Neara why they would be taking Lore with them to Ahmria.

He also related the emotion chip had fused inside Lore. It was unusable to him now.

Neara stroked Data’s cheek, her hand trembling slightly from the exertion, “Are you very disappointed about the chip?”

“Somewhat, but not very, since I have begun experiencing emotions with you,” he confided. “Although my father was brilliant, I would be concerned the chip would affect me the same way it did Lore. Having emotions that have grown from my own neural net, my own being, seems a superior means of acquiring them.”

“I am glad you think so,” Neara said as she cuddled into his chest.

“I had another emotion,” Data conveyed, “a feeling of panic over your condition. You were wailing in uncontrollable pain.”

Neara looked up at him, “I am sorry. I do not want you to have unpleasant emotions. Lore was just so very angry – so full of hate – it felt like knives cutting into me. It opened my psi wound.”

“You never talk of what caused this wound. Would you like to talk about it now?” Data asked.

“No, I do not like to talk about it. I am very tired,” Neara said and buried her face in his chest. Data was curious, but knew from past experience that Neara would not discuss it. He thought it best to leave it alone and comfort her. He gently stroked her hair until she fell asleep.


	18. Ahmrian Healing

Neara’s healing continued during the thirty-six hours of travel to the Masana moon. During the healing she was glowing a deeper blue, but Troi said it was only a third of its normal depth. Data hoped the Ahmriana would speed her recovery.

They arrived at the moon and beamed to the prescribed coordinates. Data noted it was a clearing that appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. There were no Ahmriana waiting for them.

“Has the Enterprise left yet?” Neara asked Data.

“No, they will remain until the Ahmriana have joined us,” he informed.

“Please let them know they can leave now. We will be with them shortly,” Neara directed. Data looked at her curiously, but did as she requested.

Neara waited, then asked, “Do you think they are gone now?”

“Yes,” Data looked at her quizzically.

“Then I will begin,” and she sang several tones at once and shifted them repeatedly up and down the scale. Before them an archway shimmered into being with an image of some other planet inside it. It reminded Data of the gateways created by the Iconians. Neara instructed Data to bring the case containing Lore and they walked through the portal.

They were on the other planet. Neara sang again and the doorway dissipated in a mist. She was breathing heavily and sat down on a nearby boulder. “They will be with us momentarily,” she informed. Data watched as a shimmering surface approached them, stretching across the horizon. It went through them and past them and kept expanding behind them.

“That is Ahmria’s protective sphere,” Neara explained. “We are on the Ahmrian moon Dessa. Once the sphere has encompassed this moon, we will be brought to Ahmria.”

Neara could tell Data was still curious. “The Ahmriana use their psi wave to see who is on Dessa. If they are safe for Ahmria, they expand the shield. Then they open a psi doorway from Ahmria to Dessa. Unlike the one on the Masana moon, this doorway can only be opened from one direction – from Ahmria.

“This is why I wanted to know if the Enterprise was gone. We have doorways on many planets leading to our moon. We would not want this information to get out. Please do not let anyone know of our doorways Data.”

“Of course,” Data agreed.

Neara continued, “Although we have the protection of Dessa being outside Ahmria’s sphere, it is added protection that our doorways are only known to Ahmriana.”

Just then, an archway shimmered into view and two Ahmriana came through, Neara’s mother Leyna and the Prime Healer Jonta Ashuga. Leyna flew to her daughter and kissed her rapidly all over her face. She crouched down and took Neara’s hands into hers while the Prime Healer stood behind Neara with her eyes closed, moving her open hands slowly around Neara’s head.

“ _Oh my Morning Star_ ,” Leyna said in Ahmrian, “ _I was so worrie_ _d. I am glad you are home._ ” She turned to Data, released one hand and reached it out to him. He came over and took it. “I wish our first time meeting in person was under better circumstances.”

“ As do I,” Data concurred. “You have been studying English?”

“Yes,  all of the family have. We thought  we should learn for the wedding.  We wanted to be able to speak to your people,” Leyna conveyed.  She let go of Neara’s hand, stroked her face, and kissed her softly on the forehead. Neara smiled weakly.

Leyna stood up and took Data’s head into her hands and pressed their foreheads together. Then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and released him,  the traditional Ahmrian greeting . “Let us get Neara to Ahmria. Is this your brother Lore?” she  asked indicating the case. Data affirmed and Leyna continued, “Please bring him with us.” 

The Prime Healer and Leyna hovered Neara off the boulder and the three flew through the archway while Data, carrying Lore, walked through  to Ahmria .

Data stared at the planet in wonder. Neara was correct, the holodeck did not do it justice. The whole planet was covered in an Ahmrian blue cast, and the predominant colors were blues and purples. Data knew it was mid-afternoon there, and the light was not as bright as on Earth. It was akin to the light level on an overcast Earth day. And there was a vibration – everything seemed to breathe here. And it seemed to fill him – a very pleasant sensation.

Some undulating, translucent creature, the size and shape of a stingray without the tail, went swimming by above them. The sheen on its surface changing color, perhaps reflecting the surroundings. There were clicking, ticking, whirring, chirping, and humming sounds from the creatures around him that he could not see. What looked to be indigo colored grass at his feet buzzed with energy, like static electricity. It sighed and then sprung back as he walked on it. It let off a faint perfume, and when Data smelled it, he had another feeling.

Counselor Troi had taught him to examine instances where a person would have an emotion and later that same person or someone else would describe it. In a movie, someone might throw things and yell, then later someone else might say that person was very angry. That way Data would learn what word  or words  went with  each emotional state.  He would say  the words that fit his current feeling were comfort and peace.

As Data wondered at his surroundings,  L eyna and the Prime Healer removed Neara’s shoes and stood her on the ground.  They remained on either side for support as Neara walked, the  grass losing color under her feet and then regaining it once she moved on. Data watched her progression. Neara seemed to be absorbing the Ahmriakana  from the grass .  She let out a grateful sigh .

Five figures flew into sight and went right to Neara. It was her family, and they hovered around her touching her, kissing her, and speaking rapid Ahmrian to her.  She gave a weak laugh.  Leyna spoke to them, indicating Data, and  they came over to  him .  E ach in turn gave  him the Ahmrian greeting, and Yara and his ka’sha kept touching him.

“Thank you for taking such good care of Neara and bringing her to us,” Jossa said.

“ You are certain you are  unharmed Data?” Erda  questioned .  He had spoken with Neara’s family after the incident with Lore.

“I am fine. Thank you for asking Erda,” Data acknowledged.

“You must have been terrified,” Pata inferred.

“I have not experienced many emotions, as of yet,” Data explained, “but I did feel intense panic when Neara was wailing in pain.”

“How horrible!” Seyta sympathized.

“Neara is very strong, as I am sure you have seen,” Jossa said. “She will heal quickly now she is home.” The rest made sounds of agreement and nodded their heads.

“We will take you,” Yara said gesturing to his ka’sha, “to where Lore will have his healing so you can place him there.”

“I would prefer to remain with Neara,” Data said.

“We will bring you to her right after. They will be starting on her healing now, so there will be nothing for you to do but watch,” Yara explained.

“Alright,” Data consented, and then he popped (it was the most accurate word for the experience) into a large room with floors and walls of a marble material. There was a stone table in the middle of the room, carved to make a hollowed-out semi-sphere. Its inside was filled with glowing Ahmrian blue crystals, like a geode. It had four large quartz-looking half arches every ninety degrees of the circle, curving towards the center.

“You may place him here,” Yara instructed by sweeping a hand over the half sphere table.

“Where are we? Are we still on Ahmria? How did we get here?” Data asked.

“We are at a healing chamber on Ahmria. We are able to transport instantly anywhere on the planet,” Yara elucidated.

Data was fascinated. “Did you use a device to transport or your psi ability?” he inquired while he unpacked Lore and laid him out inside the sphere.

“Ah yes, psi. Neara has explained this to us. Yes, it was psi. You will find we use much psi on Ahmria,” Yara informed.

Erda and Pata were looking at Lore being arranged. “Oh, he looks just like you,” Erda commented and touched Lore gently.

“Yes, my father used his own likeness when creating us,” Data shared. “Although it would be more accurate to say I look just like him, since Lore was constructed first.”

“Well, we knew you first. So we will always think he looks like you,” Pata stated and the other two chuckled.

Once Data was finished, a bowl of indigo liquid appeared with four cloths. Yara gave them each one and they dipped them in the bowl and squeezed out the excess, after which, they wiped down Lore’s body. They dipped and wiped down twice more, with the Ahmriana humming quietly during the process.

Task completed, the Ahmriana stood evenly-spaced around the sphere and began singing the first harmonic of Lore’s healing. As they oscillated through the notes, the quartz columns emitted a pulsing glow and the crystals shimmered.

“That will do for now,” Yara declared. “Let us take you to Neara.” The group popped out of the room leaving Lore to bathe in the healing vibration.

They appeared in a grassy clearing. Neara was lying on the grass with six Ahmriana lying on their stomachs surrounding her. They were singing a many-layered harmonic. All of them were absorbing Ahmriakana from the planet and the six were directing theirs to Neara. As he watched, the Ahmrian blue glow emanating from her was gradually deepening.

“We can show you the planet,” Yara offered. “The healing will take some time.”

“No, thank you. I would like to stay with Neara,” Data responded.

“As you wish. We will leave you now,” and Yara kissed the back of Data’s hand and the three disappeared.

Ever since Neara’s encounter with Lore, Data had not wanted to leave her side. Although he logically knew her life was limited, somehow this experience put it into sharp focus – through the lens of his new emotions. He had a need to know she was OK, a need that only his presence could satisfy.

He sat on the grass, his hands touching the ground. It felt amazing. It sent a vibration through him, like an extremely mild orgasm. He felt peaceful, satisfied, and happy. The planet was giving him feelings. They were not nearly as intense as the ones he experienced with Neara, but they were remarkable.

Fifty-four minutes had passed, during which Data enjoyed the sensations and watched Neara’s healing. They had finally finished and helped Neara rise. She already looked healthier. Data went to her side, and she took his hand.

She thanked everyone and said to Data, “Let us go to my familial home.” Two Ahmriana took their hands and popped them in front of an expanse of windows and then popped away. Data thought they were windows, but he could not see through to the other side. The windows made an elongated semi-circle that followed the curve in the base of a grassy hillside, with a narrower set further up in the middle of the hill. Neara walked through the glass, which was apparently not glass but some sort of force field, taking Data with her. Once inside, they could neither hear the sound of the planet outside nor feel its breeze, but they could see it. The view was apparently one way.

They were in a spacious bedroom. A large bed was in the middle of one wall with wardrobes opposite. A smaller room with a door, Data assumed was the bathroom, and another door were at the far end of the room. The bed was a platform that seemed to be made from the hillside itself with a thick mattress laid upon it. What looked like decorative ironwork was attached to each corner of the bed. It was covered in the same jewel-tone material Neara used in their room on the Enterprise. A rounded crystal disk in the ceiling provided light.

“This is my room,” Neara said. “I will show you the rest of the home later, but right now, I would like to lie naked with you. If that is acceptable to you ka’lee.”

“Of course. Whatever you want, I am here for you,” Data proffered.

“Let us get you out of this uniform. You will not need it while we are here,” and Neara helped him take off his clothes. He removed her clothing and as it slipped to the floor, a feeling washed over him. He was filled with love for her and marveled at how beautiful she was. He swept her up in his arms and she laughed in surprised joy as he carried her to the bed.

They lay facing each other, kissing deeply. Neara draped her leg over Data’s hip and pressed her body against his.

“I miss you,” she said.

Data’s face was a mask of confusion, “But I am here. I do not understand.”

“For nearly four days I have not had the energy to make love to you. I have missed being close to you in that way,” Neara explained. “But I do have the energy now. I may not orgasm, I do not know, but I would like to feel you inside me.”

He understood. She reached down to touch him and he got an erection. She rubbed it against her then directed him into her. He pushed in and she flushed and sighed, that wonderful sigh.

Another emotion swept over him, uncontrollable, desperate. He realized something had been held back until now, a feeling of worry, fear. Fear when Neara was taken he would never see her alive again. Fear her life would be extinguished and their time together would abruptly end. He did not want to live without her, he loved her, he needed her, his existence was wound into hers.

He held her tightly and kissed her passionately and fucked her rapidly with this desperate need, such a deep need for her, when Neara’s words penetrated his frenzy saying, “It is alright La’Ma, I am here. We are together.” She was looking at him with wide-eyed, loving concern, stroking his face and his back, repeating her words. “We are together. I will not leave you,” she comforted. “I am here. We are together.” Data calmed himself and Neara soothingly stroked his back.

“Do not worry. It is not my time yet. We have many years together,” she assured.

“It will not seem like enough,” Data asserted.

“Then let us not waste a moment,” Neara said as she kissed him and pushed him deeper into her.

They made love, then Neara slept, then they made love again, then cuddled and talked. Neara was hungry, so they got up and dressed. She gave him a loose-fitting Ahmrian outfit to wear of a pale orange silk-like fabric. The shirt was blousy with long ruched cuffs from below the elbow to the wrist, a ruched collar, and a wide band at the waist. The pants were baggy with the same wide waist band and ruching from just below the knee to the ankles. The pieces pulled on easily. Neara put on identical-looking clothing in pale blue. She offered him footwear, the flats they all wore that looked like ballet slippers, but Data decided to go barefoot. He wanted to feel the planet.

They walked out the door in the back of the room. Once through, Data noted there were six other doors along the wall, which Data assumed led to bedrooms. Before them was a communal bathing area. One wall had a waterfall feature, water cascading over stacked stones, flowing into a large stone tub which could comfortably accommodate twelve people. It filled the room with a relaxing burbling sound. The opposite wall had a wide, tall stone horseshoe formation with many crevices worn into it. It reminded Data of a miniature Niagara Falls, if the water were turned off. Further down the wall was what looked to be a sauna.

Before them was a broad ramp and Neara took them up it. It came to a wall where the ramp split into two branches, still continuing upwards, and Neara took the left one. It led into a large kitchen/dining area where Leyna was busy cooking food in pans over a clear black surface that emitted blue flames. The room was open to the living area, the other ramp evidently leading there. Everything had a view out the curved expanse of windows, the windows Data had noticed further up the hillside.

“ _Oh good,_ _Morning Star_ _, you are_ _up_ ,”  Leyna loving ly  intoned in Ahmrian  and came over to kiss them. “ _I am certain you are hungry. I will feed you – we need not wait for the others._ ”

Neara and Data sat beside each other at the table, and Leyna brought them thin pancakes piled with cooked vegetables that looked predominantly like red cabbage and tomatoes.  Neara rolled her pancake around her vegetables and nodded at Data to do the same. He followed suit and she took a bite.

“ _Aawwhh, this tastes so good!”_ she exclaimed in Ahmrian and turned to Data. “As we have discussed, Tahtee has sent us food to keep up my strength because the replicators cannot replicate Ahmriakana. Since this is fresh, it has very powerful Ahmriakana and you should be able to discern this,” she said and went back to devouring her food.

Data took a bite, curious to analyze the difference, if any, in fresh Ahmriakana, but something more happened. Was it a flavor he experienced? “I think I can taste this,” Data wondered at the sensation.

Neara and Leyna made happy noises and Neara said, “ _Tahtee, your cooking is amazing!”_ and they both laughed.

“ _Zaza La’Ma, I am honored my food has given you this first experience,_ ” Leyna acknowledged. “ _How does it taste?”_

“ I cannot say. I have no basis for comparison,” Data informed. “But I am enjoying it  immensely .”

Just then, the rest of Neara’s family popped in, greeting each other warmly. They took plates of food to the table and intoned their thanks over the food. They ate with gusto and talked raucously. Leyna brought a pitcher of some beverage to the table. She placed her hands on and sang to the container. The liquid changed color. She floated glasses over and filled and distributed them to the rowdy group.

After supper they moved to the living area and chatted. Data noticed hammocks attached to the ceiling. The Ahmriana explained they were mostly used by children. Ahmriana typically were not able to fly until after they turned sixteen, so parents would float their children into hammocks in the ceiling for the child’s amusement.

The view out the window was panoramic. It looked past the sweeping green at the base of the home, down hillsides covered in grass and vegetation to a broad, sparkling river below. The location was very private, but Leyna assured Data there were other homes built into the hillsides, all looking out the same direction. There were no homes on the opposite side of the river, so they looked across to a scenic wilderness.

The light started to fade outside and Neara took Data by the hand and they went out and lay in the grass. They watched as the stars appeared and the night creatures began their song.

Ahmria had three moons and Dessa was on the opposite side of the planet, so it was not visible, but the other two were. Neara was relating an Ahmrian myth about the moons when she turned to Data, then stopped.

“What is it ka’lee?” she asked. He was looking at her, his mouth agape.

“Your eyes are glowing,” he said in wonder. It reminded him of a cat’s eyes at night, reflecting a light source.

“Oh yes, they do this at night on Ahmria. The light is different than on the Enterprise or other planets. Our eyes have adapted to reflect this spectrum,” Neara explained. Data realized the sheen of aquamarine he had noticed when they first met was a reflective material. Like a cat, this would improve an Ahmriana’s night vision.

“It is beautiful,” he said and touched her face. “I am learning so much about you being here.”

Neara smiled and kissed Data’s hand, and they went back to stargazing.

Neara’s healing continued and her strength increased, soon it would be time to return to the Enterprise. Data had stayed with her through her days of healing treatments, eating, absorbing 'kana from the planet, and making love together. She had not had the energy for much else, not even the daily Riaka. But they could hear it and feel it, the air vibrating around them and the ground rumbling under their feet. As Geordi had surmised, it was amazing.

Today was different though, Neara rallied in order to show Data special places on the planet before they had to leave. After breakfast, they went with Yara and his ka’sha to the Myrana forest. Data had never seen anything like it. The trees were huge, like redwoods, but with white bark like a birch tree. The branches fanned out in a spiral decreasing in width as they went up the tree, making a cone shape. The leaf colors shifted through the rainbow on their way up.

“This is very fun Data,” Yara stated. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” he asked.

“For this,” and with that, Yara and the rest started singing. Their voices seemed to hit the trees and travel up them, becoming amplified along the way. It was like an echo that instead increased in sound. The trunks shook and the leaves shimmied and the sound burst out the top of the trees into the sky. The sky changed color, to a hazy purple, and reflected the sound back down the branches into the trunks and through the ground. It rumbled beneath them with a low booming noise. Data smiled in wonderment.

They enjoyed the woods for a while, then took Data to the Sooria Falls. It was a huge waterfall that hit and cascaded down crystals, like the ones in Lore’s healing table. When the water hit, the crystals chimed, creating a mesmerizing soundscape.

They popped into a large field where huge creatures were grazing. They were woolly, like bison, but had a long proboscis, like an elephant and reminded Data of woolly mammoths. They seemed to be vacuuming the grass with their trunks, each pass draining its color, with the color returning moments later. Data realized they were feeding on the Ahmriakana. They walked up to the creatures and petted them.

“These are Duramfa. They feed on Ahmriakana, as does everything on the planet,” Neara informed. “None of the animals eat each other – they only eat 'kana. Ahmriana could live on ‘kana alone, but we enjoy the physical flavor and texture of food. The ancient species eat vegetation as well, which keeps it from growing out of control.”

“How do they not overpopulate the planet?” Data inquired.

“They reproduce only enough to keep the population at the same levels, so their births and their deaths remain consistent,” Neara elucidated.

They viewed, and petted, some other creatures in the field and then popped over to a lake. Pata popped away then reappeared with a tray of food and drink.

“We will leave you here. Do you have enough strength to travel back?” Yara asked Neara.

“Yes, I should be fine for the one trip,” Neara assured, and the three left.

Data and Neara sat down on the grass by the tray. “This is Lake Anansa. I love this spot. My family would come here quite often,” and she poured them each a beverage and started eating. Data joined in, and they chatted about Neara’s visits to the lake.

Once they were done, the tray vanished, and Neara got up and removed her clothes. Data followed suit, and she took his hand and led him to the water. They walked in – the water felt even better than the grass. Its vibration moved through Data’s entire body, and he felt energized, joyful, and content.

Neara floated on the water, moving her arms slowly to and fro. Data went over and held her up, supporting her, and gently rocked her back and forth. She smiled at him lovingly and gave a contented sigh.

He bent down and kissed her lips, then moved down and sucked on a nipple. She let out an _oohhh_ and pushed her torso up. He sucked her other nipple. Her breath quickened. She pushed herself off his arms and swam over, wrapping her arms and legs around him. She kissed him passionately.

“ _Soo nah see, Neara,”_ Data spoke in a soft, fervent voice and stroked her hair.

“ _Soo nah see,_ _La’Ma_ _,”_ Neara responded with equal feeling.

“And I would have given my life, if necessary, to save you from Lore,” Data related. “I told the crew your life was more important than mine, and if it came down to the two of us, they should save you.”

“I would not have wanted that. You have much to experience in the Now,” Neara asserted. “What you are going through is very special – it needs to be expressed in the universe. It is important. It is more important than my life.”

Data knew of the Ahmriana’s view of life and death. Neara had told him there was a Before, where the spirit or life energy came from. It entered into physical form in the Now, and upon death went to the After, which was basically returning to the Before. Before and After were the same place, or dimension or energy being, they just used Before and After to clarify pre-life and post-death. Neara thought that Data’s spirit chose to manifest physically in his current form. She felt it was a very special experience for a spirit to choose.

“But I do not want to carry on indefinitely. I do not even want to carry on without you,” Data asserted.

“You will, for a time. But do not worry Data, you will not live forever. You will come to the After. You will be with me there again. And until that time, I will watch over you.” Neara looked at him questioningly, “Do you believe me?”

“You seem very confident in your belief,” Data noted, “but I have yet to come to the same conclusion.”

“As your feelings grow, you may find you sense things that are beyond this physical plane. You have already stood outside of time. And just as with that occurrence, you may have other experiences that cannot be explained by your physical senses alone.” She gave his cheek a gentle stroke, “This is what I hope for you – that you are able to fully explore the many wonders of the Now.” Neara looked at him and kissed him tenderly, and they continued absorbing the water’s potent energy.

It was their last day on Ahmria. They had been on the planet for fourteen days and had made arrangements for the Enterprise to pick them up on the Masana moon the following afternoon. It was morning, and Neara had awoken and gone to pee and came back to bed. She moved over to Data and he lay on his back as she crawled on top of him.

“Good morning, ka’lee”, she said and kissed him, fingers running through his hair, her hips slowly gyrating against him.

“Good morning,” Data responded, caressing her back and returning her kiss. “I have missed you.”

“Oh?” Neara questioned with raised eyebrows.

“Every morning since we were first together you have lain on top of me, but you have not done so during your illness,” Data explained.

She placed a hand on his cheek and ran her thumb over his lips, “I see. I have created a groove. This is very good.” She kissed him again. “I am sorry you missed me, but I am here now,” and she reached between their legs to stroke him and he got an erection. She placed him in her and as he pushed in, he had a feeling – he felt truly wonderful. He felt a belonging, a deep connection to her. They were staring intently into each other’s eyes, experiencing every bit of their motion together, when the door flew open.

“Good morning family!” Yara greeted. “It is your last day here and Tahtee has sent me to get you. She wants to spend as much time with you as she can. So hurry up and.. what is it in English?.. fuckie fuckie, and get your bodies upstairs,” then he smacked Neara on the ass and flew out leaving the door wide open.

“ _Fatat na heyat!”_ Neara yelled after him. Data translated her curse as meaning something similar to _dam_ _n_ _you_ _fool_. “I am afraid they have gotten too comfortable with you. You are truly family – with all the good and bad that comes with it,” she chuckled.

Data broke into an elated smile and Neara noticed. “You like that, hey?” she laughed. “We had better finish up our ‘fuckie fuckie’ before he comes back to get us.”

They spent the day with Neara’s family, mostly outside, with Neara sitting on the grass soaking up Ahmriakana. She told Data her psi wounds had knitted and she was no longer leaking ‘kana, so she could finally replenish her supply. Like a scar, the wounds themselves would slowly fade over time, but would never fully disappear. And they would be weak points, more vulnerable to injury.

Data heard many more stories and learned many more facts about the family and Ahmria. One being the planet’s name was a combination of _ah_ – belong, _ahm_ – the universal sound, the _ah_ and _ahm_ combining to create a contraction, and _ria_ – vibration or harmonic. So the planet’s name meant it belongs to the universal harmonic. Their name for Earth (he already knew) was Ehtoe, which also meant bird or birdsong. The three meanings were distinguished by the way they sang it, which Data considered a very judicious use of language. What he did not know was everything’s vibration made a sound, including planets. When the Ahmriana sent their psi wave to Earth, it sounded like birdsong, giving rise to the planet’s Ahmrian name. Data and Neara’s family would speak for an hour in English, and then an hour in Ahmrian, so he could learn more Ahmrian and the rest could practice English for the wedding.

That evening after their meal, they went outside to dance. They chose traditional Ahmrian music from the Vyta. Vashala Vyta was a famous composer who lived eight thousand years ago. Her music was played at celebrations and ceremonies. It had a flowing, ethereal quality to it which Data thought would lend itself well to flying Ahmrian dancing.

Suddenly, Data was swooped up into the air, into the dance. He did not know they could do this – Neara had never lifted him on the Enterprise. They saw his surprise and laughed joyfully.

“We can fly anything on Ahmria. Even something as heavy as you!” Yara kidded.

“We move beings by using their DNA. It is an energy antenna – a spring of sorts and we can use its momentum.” Leyna elucidated. “Things without DNA are much heavier to move. But on Ahmria, the planet helps us with this.”

“You are weightless as a hair,” Erda chuckled.

“They would say ‘light as a feather’ on Earth,” Data informed.

They made noises of understanding, but Pata was confused, “What does the color of a feather have to do with weight?”

“They also use the word light to mean not weighing much,” Yara explained.

“Oh, ‘ _light_ as a feather,’ I see. I like that!” Pata exclaimed and everyone laughed.

They danced in the clearing and as they rose into the sky, Data saw other families dancing in the distance. His family recognized them with the Ahmrian wave and they waved back. They danced until the light drained from the sky and their eyes began to glow.

After making love in the morning, Neara and Data had a communal bath with the family. Most days, Yara and his ka’sha would use the Niagara falls feature, which was an Ahmrian shower. Data noted they seemed to like soaping each other up. Today, the three joined the family in the bath, and they all talked and laughed and discussed their impending Earth visit.

The family ate a late breakfast together, then Data and Neara went to their room to get ready. Data put on his uniform while Neara brushed her teeth, then they went upstairs. They said their goodbyes to the family, and Data watched their tears flow, wishing he could ease the pain of their separation.

Leyna escorted them to Dessa. She kissed her daughter rapidly all over her face and hugged her tightly. “ _Ka'na'la leetee,”_ she intoned and caressed Neara’s face. Data had been speaking so much Ahmrian he knew what was said without needing to translate. _Love you whole_ – I love you, _my being_ – child. Leyna came over to Data and did the same thing, but added, “ _Ka'na'la_ _lee ah_ _leetee.”_ Data was not certain if her intonation meant _I love you my ‘belong’_ or ‘ _given’_ or ‘ _giving’_ _child_ , but all worked. Earlier, she had told him he was part of their family and under their love and protection for the rest of his existence. He would always have a home on Ahmria with any of the Ahtas or their descendants. He would always have their love. He was her child now, just as much as Neara or Yara were.

Leyna held Neara and Data’s hands and said, “Take care of each other, watch over each other, love each other, bring joy to one another,” and then she kissed the backs of their hands. She let them go and gave the Ahmrian wave as they walked through the portal.


	19. Moving On

A few days had passed since Neara and Data’s return to the Enterprise, and Neara was feeling like her old self again. The time on Ahmria had really helped speed her recovery.

Data had returned to duty and was talking to the new ensign on navigation, Ro Laren. He was sharing how he was to be married during their next maintenance stop on Earth in two months.

“You’re getting married?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Data stated as a matter of fact.

“But you’re an android,” Ro said.

“One does not preclude the other,” Data contended.

“Are you marrying a Vulcan?” she questioned.

“Why do people assume my intended must be a Vulcan?” Data was baffled.

“Well, it does seem the logical conclusion,” Ro asserted with a grin. “So what species is your intended?”

“She is Ahmriana,” Data informed.

“Oh, from Ahmria. Those people with the blue eyes,” she recalled. “I’d really like to meet the person who would marry an android. I’m sure she’s a very unique individual. Do you think I could meet her?”

“We are joining some friends at 1900 hours in Ten Forward this evening. Would you care to come?” Data offered.

“Yeah, I would. Thanks!” Ro accepted.

Troi, Riker, Crusher, Worf, Data, Neara and Reggie were at a table together. Neara had invited Reggie, because he had graciously taken care of Spot while she and Data were away for her healing. Ro walked up and joined them.

“Ensign Ro Laren, this is my fiancée Neara Na Ahta,” Data introduced.

They greeted each other and Ro said, “So you’re the woman who would marry an android.”

“Yes, I am very fortunate. I do not know how he puts up with my scatter brain!” she laughed and Ro laughed along.

“You’re different than I thought. I thought you’d be more like a Vulcan,” Ro expressed.

“Opposites attract,” Riker intoned.

“I guess so,” Ro agreed.

The group started chatting, and Ro was very interested in how Data and Neara met, how long they’d been together, who asked whom to marry, and why they were having their ceremony on Earth rather than Ahmria.

The conversation then turned to other topics. After a while, Neara asked Ro if she had difficulty learning English. Ro said she had learned it as a child, so it wasn’t difficult for her. Neara than began to explain her experience.

“The Ahmrian language is musical,” she related. “The same word will have a different meaning depending on the pitch you sing it. We grow up with this, so this is all we know.

“When I first came to the Federation, I learned the English words, but I naturally started singing them to people – like I was in a musical. People would give me strange looks, and I would not understand.” She started singing an example, “Why do they look at me so? Did I not use the right word? Or perhaps I need a different tone.” She than sang in a lower pitch, “Maybe I should go lower with this word.” Ro and the rest laughed. Data did not laugh, but he was fascinated – he had not heard this story before.

She continued singing, “But still they look at me. Something is different. Something sounds different in what I do. What is it? I listen carefully. They are somehow less musical.” She sang the next phrases all on one note, “I will sing in one tone. No, that is not it. What is it?” As she slowly spoke the next words, the musicality drained from her speech, “I will imitate them. This is what they do when they speak. This is how to speak English. Oh, I hear it now.” She began speaking normally, “And then, I am speaking proper English. I must be careful, I find myself wanting to sing again just doing this example. Too easy to slip back!” she laughed and everyone, except Data, joined in.

“Wow, that’s quite a learning curve,” Ro exclaimed.

“I am glad I figured it out. It was starting to become annoying, people staring at me as if I were a mad woman,” Neara confided. “But that is not the only problem. When I get here, Will placed me in engineering. This is fine, I can fix things. Except, I do not know the names for these things. Geordi will say, ‘Na Ahta, will you fix the _ta_ _h_ _-s_ _e_ _h_ _-_ _da_ _k_ _-_ _tha_ on the _ta_ _h_ _-s_ _e_ _h_ _-_ _da_ _k_ _-_ _tha_. _T_ _a_ _h_ _-s_ _e_ _h_ _-_ _da_ _k_ _-_ _tha_ is how Ahmriana think English sounds.” Data had not known this fact either.

“So I would give him a blank stare, and he would have to explain to me as a child and show me. I know it is very frustrating for him. He probably hates Will for putting me there. I imagine him explaining yet another thing to me, then going off to some private place and shaking his fist in the air yelling, ‘Riker!’ as loudly as he can. I would not blame him.”

“Wow, is it really that bad?” Riker asked.

“I would like to think it is not these days, I have learned some names. But it definitely was that bad at the beginning, poor Geordi,” Neara said.

“Well,” Riker reflected, “I’ll have to tell him I owe him one when I next see him.”

“I believe you would owe him many,” Data stated, and everyone laughed.

Data thought he knew all salient information regarding his ka’sha. That was, everything except Neara’s psi injury, about which he hoped to eventually gain her confidence. Now he was finding there were additional things he did not know. Perhaps this was the nature of an intimate relationship. Perhaps one was always learning new things about the other. Perhaps that was how relationships grew. He smiled with satisfaction and focused on the conversation going on in front of him, secure in the knowledge he would always be learning and growing with Neara.


	20. Ahmrian Bonding Ceremony

[Author’s note: I’m a fan of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), as I’ve always enjoyed songs with orchestration, so I made them the band for the Ahmrian ceremony. I also think their music has a futuristic feel to it, but the lyrics are obviously from this era. So if you go and listen to it, you’ll have to suspend your disbelief and just pretend the band put lyrics in the songs that the Earthlings would understand but happened to get the wrong time period. Or whatever explanation works for you.]

Picard, Troi, Riker, La Forge, Worf, Crusher, Data, and Neara were all at Chateau Picard waiting outside for Neara’s family to arrive. It was a beautiful September day, a little overcast with a slight wind blowing the scent of the grape vines across the clearing where they stood.

The shuttle came into view and gently touched down. Neara and Data were standing, hand-in-hand, a few paces in front of the group. When her family disembarked, Neara released Data’s hand and ran, then flew at her family and they all spiraled into the air together, a great hugging mass, Neara’s mother kissing her rapidly all over her face.

They were talking excitedly and joyfully in Ahmrian. Picard and the others never realized exactly how musical the Ahmrian language was until they heard it spoken. They were singing to each other, like birdsong, but in a humanoid register.

Neara gestured to Data, and the family flew down and scooped him up into the air in their whirlwind of hugs and joy, Neara’s mother kissing Data rapidly all over his face. After a minute, they touched down and walked over to the awaiting group.

Neara made the introductions, “This is my family. My mother Leyna Na Ahta, my uncle Jossa Na Ahta, my cousin Seyta Na Ahta, my brother Yara Na Ahta, and his ka’sha Erda Na Poda, and Pata Na Casta.

“This is Jean-Luc Na Picard, Geordi Na La Forge, Deanna Na Troi, Will Na Riker, Worf, and Beverly Na Crusher,” she indicated, “although they do not use the Na. I use it so you will know that is their family name.”

The Ahmriana nodded and Picard sung, “Chowna shatee esteo sa.”

“I believe you told them ‘welcome throughout being morning sit,’” Data informed.

Leyna correctly sung the phrase for Picard which she knew he meant to be ‘beings, welcome to this place.’ “We appreciate your effort. We understand Ahmrian is a difficult language for others to master.” She then sang the response phrase thanking him for his hospitality. Then she sang a special phrase thanking the Earthlings for welcoming them to their planet and blessing it. When she finished her intonation, the Ahmriana bent on one knee and placed their right hands on the ground. They all sang the universal _ahm_ sound three times, and with each _ahm_ , a low _whoomph_ rattled the ground, followed by two higher _chauk_ _chauk_ sounds. Then a ripple of Ahmrian blue flowed over the ground.

They stood and Leyna walked to Picard. He reached out his hand in greeting and Leyna said, “It seems too formal for Data’s family. I will give you the Ahmrian greeting,” and she proceeded to place her hands on either side of Picard’s head. She tilted his head down and pressed her forehead against his, then she tilted his head up and pressed their lips together in a quick kiss. She moved over to Deanna and did the same thing, and then to each person in the group respectively. The rest of the Ahmriana followed suit.

“I thought you might like to freshen up after your journey,” Picard proffered. “I can show you to your rooms, if you like.”

“Yes, we would appreciate this,” Leyna accepted for the group.

The Ahmriana had arrived early in the day. The wedding party would have lunch together, then they would get ready for the evening bonding ceremony. It was set to start at the gloaming.

Lunch was very pleasant. As with Neara, her family were easy to talk to, and they spent a good couple hours chatting over the course of the meal. They had additional guests who joined them, a band brought from Ahmria to play at the bonding ceremony.

After lunch, everyone went to their respective rooms to prepare for the evening event. Neara’s uncle Jossa was acting as a master of ceremony, since parents were expected to relax and enjoy themselves. Before they disbanded, he had reiterated the instructions they were given before arriving to Earth – that they wear whatever formal attire they felt best in, and make themselves up in any way they wanted. They did not need to wear the Ahmrian ceremonial make-up, nor wear their ceremonial garments, but they could if they so desired. The feeling of the group was what was important to the Ahmriana. They wanted strong happy, loving feelings to create the correct vibration for the bonding. Anything the group could do to facilitate those feelings were welcome.

Picard’s room adjoined Neara and Data’s. He could hear them having sex. He decided to go down to the living room, as there was plenty of time to get dressed. He would have some tea and read for an hour, then go up and get ready. They should be done by then.

He could hear Jossa, Seyta, and Leyna chanting, their tone creating a hum through the house. He could feel it in his body. It was a pleasant sensation.

Then he heard Yara, Erda, and Pata having sex. It sounded like something thumped against the wall. There was laughing. Was all this sex in preparation for the ceremony?

Then he heard Troi and Riker having sex. He would have to leave the house. He made ready to go when Leyna, Jossa, and Seyta came down to join him.

“Seems our work is bearing fruit. I believe that is the Earth saying,” Leyna commented. “We chant for joy, happiness, and sexual pleasure.”

Leyna could see Picard’s discomfort. She would take him away before that affected the vibration they had struck, “Shall we take a walk in your vineyard?” Picard readily agreed to escape his home’s erotic saturation.

The group was dressed and downstairs for the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. They all wore formal attire, but no uniforms, as Neara had requested. Loose-fitting clothing with leggings was suggested, and everyone had complied. Worf was wearing Klingon ceremonial garb.

The Ahmriana and Data were wearing outfits made of Ahmrian blue colored fabric, which looked like satin. It had a swirling pattern on it which Leyna explained represented the harmonic of the universe. The clothes looked comfortable and flowing. A mid-thigh length tunic with a low collar and gathered cuffs and waist and loose pants gathered at the ankles. The collar, cuffs, waist, and ankles were adorned with Ahmrian blue jewels.

Their make-up consisted of a small Ahmrian blue colored spiral starting at the bridge of their nose and turning inward to end in the third eye area. There was a larger spiral on their neck and their lips were colored the same blue. Leyna explained it was to amplify the sending and receiving of harmonic. Data and Neara did not have the neck spiral, but Leyna informed the group they had spirals on other areas of their bodies specific to this ceremony.

The first order of business was the bonding intonation. It was meant to send love and joy to the bonding pair, or group, depending on how many were bonding together. Jossa instructed them that Leyna would intone to bring forth the proper frequency, then the rest should choose a note to sing and they would sing their notes at the same time. The note was to be sung with an ‘ah’ sound. While singing this note, they were to think about all the love, joy, and good wishes they would bestow on the couple.

The gloaming had started on a beautiful night. They went outside onto the grass and formed a circle with Data and Neara in the middle. They linked hands. Data and Neara stood facing each other, holding hands. Leyna started. She chanted in Ahmrian, the sound creating a palpable vibration in the air. Then she sang six quick notes and another a third down. She nodded up, taking a deep breath indicating to the group it would be time to start. She nodded down and the group sang their respective notes.

They were holding their notes and taking breaths in between, but because they took breaths at different times, the effect was a single, uninterrupted harmonic. They poured all of their love and good feelings into their intonation. The couple started glowing an Ahmrian blue color. Neara smiled at Data and laughed softly at the ticklish sensation. Data was looking at her in awe.

The blue increased in vibrancy, Data and Neara’s eyes remained locked on each other. The sound was vibrating the surrounding air and stretching out further. Neara and Data’s bodies were like tuning forks, the blue increasing as the power of the sound increased.

Leyna decided it was time. She nodded slowly, and when her head came down, the singing stopped. Data and Neara were left with an exhilarating buzz in their bodies.

“It is now time to eat,” Jossa announced. There was a long table set outside and the party made their way over to it. The Ahmriana had humans prepare the food, but when it came to serving it, they levitated the dishes out themselves. The food hovered over the middle of the table and then it began.

There was a mad flight of dishes about the table with the Ahmriana’s voices raised in boisterous Ahmrian conversation with wide gesticulations and raucous laugher. Flying spoons plopped food onto the guests’ plates. Neara levitated her spoon, scooped up some food and flung it at Yara’s face. Yara stopped it before it hit him and it dropped to his plate. They laughed hysterically. The Ahmriana’s spoons were flying around the table, taking food from the other plates and feeding it to themselves.

Geordi was sitting to one side of Neara with Data on her other. He was watching the scene in wide-eyed astonishment. The other non-Ahmriana guests were equally stupefied.

The whirling dishes gathered momentum and then they dropped to the table. At the same time, the Ahmriana stopped talking, put their right forearms on the table, then banged three times in quick succession. They then started speaking English in a normal volume and began eating.

Neara turned to Geordi, “Decorum,” she laughed.

Geordi sat looking at his plate, dumbfounded. It was full of food. All items he enjoyed in his childhood.

Neara noticed, “Did you not get everything you wanted?”

“Yeah, this looks great,” he replied, “but how did you know what I liked?”

“We read your mind,” Neara said, tapping the side of her head conspiratorially.

Everyone was very happy with their meal. They all had the dishes they most enjoyed. Worf even had his favorite Klingon foods and prune juice. They ate with gusto, and when the meal was through, the Ahmriana floated the dishes away.

They sat and talked for a little while longer and then Jossa indicated it was time to get up. Once clear, he floated another long table to adjoin the first. He then floated all of the chairs to one side of the table, facing out at the clearing. The band came out and assembled to one side. They did not have instruments, using only their Ahmriana abilities to vibrate the air to create the required sound.

“Now Leyna will seat you for ideal harmonic,” he announced. Leyna proceeded to assign seats with the formation Riker, Troi, Seyta, Jossa, Leyna, Picard, Neara, Data, La Forge, Crusher, Worf, Erda, Yara, then Pata. They took their seats, Jossa was still standing.

“It is now time for the dancing,” Jossa began. “The Ahmriana will ask you to dance. They will be the only ones to ask. They will take turns. I understand Worf does not wish to dance, so we will not ask him. All the evening, you will send your good wishes to the bonding pair. Every good feeling you have, you will offer it up to the bonding pair.” He demonstrated by taking his hands, palms down, and then pushing the backs of his fingers against each other and rotating them around until they parted and his hands were facing upwards. He then bowed to the couple.

“It is of utmost importance you send all of your good feelings to them. You must think of them this entire time. You must send them all of the joy and love inside of you. I cannot stress this enough,” he instructed.

“Now Leyna, as the mother, will be the first to ask to dance,” and Jossa sat down as Leyna got up. She walked in front of the table and looked up and down it. She went over to Troi.

“You have been such a help to my daughter, would you do me the honor of this dance?” she asked.

“I’d be delighted,” Troi responded, “but I don’t know any Ahmrian dances.”

“Do not worry,” Leyna assured and then turned to Data and spoke to him in Ahmrian.

He replied, “You would say, ‘I am a very good lead.’”

She turned back to Troi and said, “I am a very good lead,” with an infectious smile. She held out her hand and Troi came around the table and took it.

As they walked a few paces in front of the table into the clearing, Neara turned to Picard with a big smile and said, “You are in luck! My mother is a wonderful dancer.”

Leyna nodded to the band and the music started. The song was “Tightrope” and as the beginning chords slid up then down, Leyna’s arms went from the side of her body over her head and they lifted off the ground. When the chords slid down, she put them down, and Deanna and Leyna were left hovering in the air.

Leyna started moving Deanna in an elegant dance. Deanna was astounded, her body was literally being moved and she was flying. When the violins started playing, Leyna threw her arms up and Deanna went into the air above and in front of her and started spinning like a top. Her arms moved, making the top change shape. Leyna danced elegantly around her.

When the strings started going down the scale, Leyna took Deanna’s hands and they slowly spun down like a propeller seed. When the strings were staccato, they put their arms out and flipped with each note. The strings paused for a moment and then played very fast, at which point Leyna held Deanna and spun her. The spin was so fast they were a blur.

When the guitar came in Leyna let Deanna go and, hovering in the air, Deanna let out a peal of delighted laughter and doubled over with it. The non-Ahmriana group were relieved. Although it was a wonder to watch, they didn’t know how Deanna would react to being spun like that. She was laughing so hard, her joy was contagious.

The dance went on, elegant moves, fast spinning, clapping. At one point in the song, Leyna ‘pushed’ Deanna and she fell backward, gravity taking her. She screamed and was stopped a meter above the ground. She laughed hysterically – what a rush!

The song ended with them gracefully twirling to the ground. Once there Deanna said with a huge smile, “That was the _most_ _exhilarating_ _experience_ of my _life_!” She laughed in sheer delight.

“I am so glad,” Leyna responded happily and indicated Deanna needed to turn to the couple and give them this gift. They both made Jossa’s hand gesture to the couple and bowed repeatedly. Neara was smiling at them with beaming joy in her eyes and Data had his mouth slightly open, smiling softly in a look of absolute wonderment.

“You have to try it Will,” Deanna encouraged and Jossa spoke up, “OK Will, let us dance!”

The two danced to “Turn to Stone.” Jossa was a very powerful dancer, easily able to flip and turn Will. He flung Will like a clock hand around him, then spun him like a gyroscope. When the song stated “turn to stone” Jossa would freeze the two men in whatever pose they were currently in, whether that be upside down or sideways. Before the end of the song where the chords started progressing upwards, Jossa asked Will if he was ready. Will nodded and Jossa wrapped his arms around him and spun him even faster than Leyna had spun Deanna, unbelievably fast. Everyone laughed. The two came down and gave their gift of joy to the couple.

“Ah, it is my turn now,” Yara said, “and I am going to pick two people!”

“Of course you will,” Neara laughed, “you are greedy.” Yara smiled and winked at his sister and asked Geordi and Beverly to dance.

They danced to “Livin’ Thing” in an elegant, graceful fashion. First Yara spun and dipped Beverly, then he went to Geordi and did the same thing, then he spun them both. They floated through the air like fish swimming through water, spiraling and snaking around each other. It was beautiful and sensual. As the song ended, they linked arms and Yara made it look like they were kick-stepping their way down invisible stairs to the ground. It was so fun, everyone laughed. With elated smiles, they gave their gifts to the couple.

Leyna turned to her daughter and said, “I think it is time for the ka’sha to dance.” Neara nodded and led Data by the hand to the clearing. Their song was “Shine a Little Love” and they stood, Neara waiting for the explosive first chords to play before starting to dance.

Picard saw Leyna and Jossa plant their elbows on the table with their hands raised and outstretched. Leyna saw him looking and explained, “We are helping Neara to lift Data. He is very heavy. Since his material is not DNA, he is difficult to make fly. This is why Neara has not flown anyone on your ship – she did not want Data to be left out. She is a kind and good Ahmriana,” she said with love and admiration. They went back to looking at the couple.

When the awaited chords played, Neara flung her arms up and Data shot into the air, then came down slightly. Then Neara shot into the air and came down to Data’s level. Then she flung him up again and she went up again to meet him. They twirled quickly and flew around in the air like acrobats. When the song got to the lyrics, “Can you understand?” Neara floated in front of Data and did the ka’sha touch and mouthed the questions with Data mouthing the answers. Later in the song when the lyrics recurred, they did the same thing, but that time Data asked the questions and Neara answered.

The song contained a repeated two-clap sequence. When it started, Leyna and Jossa placed their forearms on the table and banged twice. Leyna nodded to Picard indicating he should do the same and with a twist of her head, let him know he should inform the rest of the table. The next two-clap sequence occurred and with each bang the group did on the table, the couple flashed Ahmrian blue. Neara smiled and laughed when it happened and Data smiled back at her.

Their song ended and as they came around the table to sit, Leyna asked Picard to dance with her. Although he did not dance, he decided not to opt-out as Worf had done. It was a special occasion and he also considered himself an unofficial emissary in this situation, so he felt it more decorous to dance.

The music started as Leyna escorted Picard to the clearing. Once there, she gently floated them into the air where they hovered during what sounded like a music box playing. The music changed becoming tense, urgent, and Leyna flew around and behind him. A voice like thunder boomed and with an expansive stroke of her arm, Leyna lit up the night sky with lightning bolts of Ahmrian blue. With each thunder clap, Leyna would do the same thing.

When they ended, she flew with Picard gracefully. The strings started playing at a rapid tempo, and Picard and Leyna were parallel to the ground, spinning very fast. Holding his hand, she would drop him until their arms were stretched, then come down to meet him, then spin him again and drop him. She did this move repeatedly when the fast string section played.

At different points in the song, she would fly him about pushing against his chest. She would then fling him to the far end of the clearing. She flew with him elegantly, gracefully, then she would do the spin and drop move again.

The onlookers were amazed. It was a very active dance, and they were surprised Picard was able to handle it. The dance ended with them gracefully turning together until they reached the ground, and Picard seemed no worse for the wear.

Everyone, except Worf, took turns dancing. A great joyful, loving harmonic had been struck, the last dance being Neara and Data dancing to “Midnight Blue.”

They floated down and Jossa indicated that the group should stand up. He placed Data and Neara by the entrance to the house. He then instructed the guests, “It is now time for the bonding ceremony to end. We ask that everyone give the couple an Ahmrian kiss, the same as we gave you in greeting. After the kiss, you will draw a half circle on the left side of the ka’shas’ face using your thumb going from the forehead around and down to the chin. This is a very powerful symbol in Ahmria. The half circle wishes to complete itself and draws energy in. As they are with each other tonight, their half circles will come together with every kiss to become whole. We ask that all guests do this, even if you feel some discomfort giving them the Ahmrian kiss,” Jossa looked pointedly at Worf. “Remember, you are doing this for the bonding ka’sha. Please send them thoughts of joy and love. You may then go in for the evening, if you wish.”

They made a line. Leyna was first, followed by Jossa, then Geordi and so on. When it was time to kiss, Data came before Neara. Geordi thought, _what the heck_ , and gave him the Ahmrian kiss. “Wow,” he commented to the group, “I’ve never kissed Data before.” He directed his next comment to Data, “Your lips are surprisingly soft.”

“Thank you,” Data nodded, and everybody laughed. Geordi completed the half moon gesture and moved on to Neara.

The rest of the group gave the Ahmrian kiss and half moon gesture to the couple. Even Worf complied with the request. It was late, and everyone decided to go in for the night.


	21. Bonding Evening

As the guest made their way to their rooms, Leyna bundled Neara and Data into theirs and then floated two chairs up to the landing across from their door. Jossa joined her and they sat, elbows planted on the armrests, hands up. Their right hand was held up with fingers outstretched, their left hand was held out with palm facing toward the door.

Troi and Riker were walking across the landing to their room when they saw the two. “What are you doing?” Deanna asked with curiosity.

“We are helping to lift the couple and sending them love, joy, and deep sexual connection,” Leyna answered. “Would you like to join us?”

“Yes,” Deanna smiled. She loved them dearly and wanted to send them this special gift. Will didn’t know what he was doing, but if Deanna wanted to help, he’d try to make a show of it.

Jossa floated up two more chairs and they sat down. “Just put your hands forward and concentrate on sending them loving, happy, erotic vibrations that will root in their bodies and beings,” he guided. “To do this, have the thoughts that bring about those feelings in you. Then take those feelings and push them into their bodies. See it as a substance moving from you to them.”

Troi and Riker faced their hands forward and started thinking. It was very nice and they were becoming aroused. When her arousal was quite strong, Deanna took the wonderful feelings in her body and pushed them to Data and Neara.

“Very good Deanna,” Leyna complimented.

Riker wasn’t having as much luck. He was definitely getting aroused, but he didn’t understand how to push it to the couple.

“That marvelous feeling in your body, Will,” Deanna explained, “just see yourself making it into a ball and passing it over to them.”

That helped, and Will thought he had successfully done it. “Ah, that worked, Will,” Jossa confirmed.

Data and Neara were naked in bed together, gently touching and kissing each other. They both agreed – the evening had been glorious. Neara was so happy Data would remember it in perfect detail. She wanted his life to be filled with wondrous and joyful days.

As for Data, he was filled with awe that he was with such an incredible being. She gave him love, belonging, and the most extraordinary experiences. Before they met, he had desired to be married. He could not have even conceived of the connection he would eventually have. He did not even consider that he would have feelings for his future mate at all. But now, those feelings ran like a deep root, branching out through his body, twisting around every bit of him. It could not be removed. He was truly bonded to Neara.

Neara could feel what they were doing outside the door, even if Data could not. “Are you ready for another new experience?” she asked.

“With you, always,” Data replied, then Neara floated them into the air above the bed. Data was surprised, he did not think she would have the strength to do this on her own outside Ahmria.

Neara saw his reaction. She smiled, “They are outside the door helping to lift you.” Data raised his eyebrows and nodded his understanding. “I had not tried this on Ahmria because even with Ahmria’s help, I was too weak to lift you on my own. Rather than have my family assist, I decided it would be better to leave this first time as a special bonding experience.”

Neara proceeded to slowly spin Data like a rotisserie, sensually caressing the full length of his body. She then lowered her head and let her hair gently brush across his skin as he rotated. It was a most erotic sensation.

She stopped the rotation and floated them over the floor, then moved them perpendicular to it. She turned upside down and started fellating him. He pulled her close and spread her legs, returning the favor.

After a time, he could tell she was getting close. Her legs started trembling and she released her mouth from him and let out an _oh great universe_ in Ahmrian, which she did when she was having a powerful orgasm. With heavy breaths, she floated away from him, turned upright, floated back and wrapped herself around him.

“You make me feel so good,” she murmured then kissed him deeply. She reached down and guided his erection into her.

They started moving as they did during coitus, in syncopation with each other, in then out. Suddenly Neara wrapped herself tightly around Data and spun him, the spin creating a gyroscopic motion to the movement of their genitals.

She abruptly stopped and looked at Data, smiling. “Did you like that?” she asked.

“That was a unique sensation,” Data observed, smiling back.

She spun him again, fast. The gyroscopic motion exponentially intensified. She stopped and laughed heartily. Data let out a short ‘ha, ha’ and continued smiling.

Neara stared at him in wonder and excitement, her hands on either side of his face. “What was that?”

“What do you mean?” Data queried.

“You just laughed ka’lee!” she exclaimed.

Data went back through his memory records, and there it was – he had laughed. He had not even noticed it, it came so naturally, as if it were a program running in the background of which he was not consciously aware. He returned her excited gaze.

“This is wonderful!” Neara proclaimed. “You give me so much ka’lee. This is a most amazing bonding present,” then she continued the spin.

As they spun their way to climax, Data considered the truth to be exactly the opposite. It was _Neara_ who had given _him_ the bonding present.

Picard was in his childhood room. It shared a wall with his parents’ old bedroom, the largest one in the house. Since it was their wedding gathering, Picard politely assigned Data and Neara that room, not realizing how active their sex life would be. Now, he wished he could move out of his childhood room to a room at the far end of the hall, but all the rooms were occupied.

The group outside Neara and Data’s door had disbanded, retiring for the night. Picard was in his bed reading when he heard a knock. He bid them enter.

The door opened and Leyna asked, “May I join you?”

Picard sat up, “Of course.” Leyna came over to his bedside and started undressing. “What are you doing?” he asked with some alarm.

“I am undressing,” she answered plainly.

“But…” Picard started as Leyna finished removing her clothes and interrupted him.

“I am joining you,” and she proceeded to get into bed with him. She kissed him and pulled him down onto the bed with her. He did not resist.


	22. Human Wedding

Data had decided to sleep for an hour, but was awoken after only twenty minutes by the vibration and sound of the daily Riaka. His special waking feature had been activated, the one he installed to ensure he would not sleep through hails from the crew. Neara was awake beside him, lying on her back, looking at the ceiling. He was surprised to see her there.

“You did not wish to join your family?” he asked.

She looked at him lovingly, “I did not wish to leave you on our wedding morning.” Data came over and kissed her, then lay under her arm, head resting against her breast. She held him and kissed his head and stroked his hair. He could feel her breathing in his scent. He looked up and they kissed, then he kissed down her breast and started sucking her nipple.

They made love before going down to breakfast. Everyone was there, eating and chatting happily. Data was in charge of the human wedding arrangements, and the day had been planned. They would go to the little chapel on the property and say their vows. Then they would go up to the house where they would have a meal, followed by music and dancing.

Neara had known nothing of human wedding customs and had asked Beverly Crusher for help, since she had been married before. Yara was going to stand with Neara, or be her ‘Best Being’ as Neara called it. She asked Beverly what clothing he should wear, and Crusher replied that it was traditional for the wedding party to wear tuxedos. Neara had relayed this fact to her brother. She asked what clothing she should wear, and Crusher showed her wedding dresses. She chose a plain pearl-colored silk shift, since it looked the most comfortable. Ahmriana wore loose-fitting clothing with no undergarments, and this looked similar. Beverly had taken the dress with her, stating it was human custom that Data not see it before the wedding. Neara would go to Beverly’s room to get dressed before going to the chapel.

There was time before the wedding, and the group went for a walk around the vineyard. Neara had given strict instructions that the Ahmriana not be allowed any wine until _after_ the ceremony, since she well knew the effect it would have on them.

After their walk, they gathered in the living room and talked while having tea and sandwiches. Data went to grab his cup to get a refill and Neara used her telekinesis to move it just out of reach. It was a game the Ahmriana played with each other while honing this ability. She loved playing it with Data because he could move so fast. She did it a few times, everybody watching. He caught the cup and everyone laughed, and the Ahmriana cheered _zaza_!

The group disbanded, doing their own activities until it was time to get ready for the wedding. Data and Neara went to their room to make love, as did Yara and his ka’sha. Picard went outside to read a book. The rest decided to play poker.

Picard had settled on a bench in the shade of a large oak tree when Leyna joined him.

“It is a lovely day for a wedding ceremony,” Leyna commented. It was mostly cloudy and there was a gentle breeze and the temperature was comfortable.

“Yes, it seems quite nice,” Picard agreed. He was feeling a little awkward around Leyna since his unexpected intimacy with her the night before.

“I would like to be with you again tonight, Jean-Luc, if that is acceptable to you,” Leyna plainly expressed.

“I’m not certain…” Picard began.

“I will come to your room tonight,” Leyna interjected. “If you do not want me, then you can tell me then. I will let you read your book now,” Leyna smiled and left, leaving a bemused Picard to stare after her.

It was time to get ready for the wedding. Data, Geordi, Picard, and Riker were all planning to wear dress uniforms. The others were wearing their choice of formal attire, except for Yara and his ka’sha. They had followed Neara’s instructions, interpreting ‘wedding party’ as the gathering of people at the wedding, so the three of them wore tuxedos.

Neara went to Crusher’s room to put on her dress. She slipped on matching flats, said thank you, and turned to leave when Crusher exclaimed, “Wait! Do you want something special done with your hair or some make-up?”

Ahmriana did not wear make-up, although she had seen humans do so. “Is this expected?” she asked.

“No. But why don’t I try putting a little make-up on you and see how you like it?” Beverly asked. “If you don’t, you can always wash it off.”

“OK, I will try it,” Neara agreed.

Crusher went about making up Neara’s face. She used it sparingly, because she didn’t want Neara to be shocked by it. Neara had beautiful eyes, but when Beverly put the blue eyeshadow above them, they stood out like blue beacons.

When she finished, she handed Neara a mirror. “Hah, that is very different. But it is nice to do something different for Data. I will keep it for this special day,” Neara assented.

“I have something else – a wedding present of sorts. You can give it back to me later,” and Crusher proceeded to clip a silver barrette with a blue stone to Neara’s hair. “It’s a human custom to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue to bring good luck for the wedding. This barrette has been in my family for generations, so it is old and blue. And you are borrowing it from me, and your dress is new, so you’re covered!” she smiled, satisfied with her work.

All but Leyna had gone to the chapel. Data had given her a wildflower bouquet to give to Neara, explaining the custom was for Neara to carry them up the aisle with her.

Leyna saw her daughter coming down the stairs and commented, “Ah, you wear the face paint. Your eyes look as blue fire!”

“Thank you Tahtee,” Neara smiled.

“Data says these are for you to carry down the aisle,” and Leyna gave her the bouquet.

“You carry them in front of you,” Crusher explained. “When you go to stand beside Data, you give them to Yara so your hands are free during the ceremony.” Neara nodded her understanding, and the three walked down to the chapel.

As they drew close, Neara could hear music. The chapel had a small organ, and Data had asked a local organist to play for the wedding. Neara knew she would walk up the aisle with her mother, and then she would stand beside Data. Picard would be officiating.

They reached the chapel and the organist saw them. The music momentarily stopped. Beverly went to take a seat and turned to film the ceremony. The organist started a new song and nodded at them, indicating they could walk up the aisle. Beverly had suggested they walk slowly, so they did, up to the dais.

Neara was so happy – Data looked as handsome as ever. She was so in love with him. She took his hand and handed her bouquet to Yara. She smiled at Geordi, then gazed at her beloved. Data looked at Neara and an emotion of pure joy shot through him.

Picard began, “It is a captain’s great honor and privilege to join two people together in matrimony. This time, it is even more so, as it is my good friend and comrade Data and his lovely bride Neara. Two people, who in a wide universe of diverse beings, managed to find each other. A most wondrous event.

“The couple has written vows to one another. I understand Neara would like to say hers first,” and Picard gave her a nod.

Neara turned to Data and took his other hand. “Data, you know I can see the inner light in beings. From the moment I saw yours, I have been captivated. Before you, I was very happy, but now, I have been fulfilled to a point I did not know was possible. You have given yourself to me, completely, without hesitation. You have shown me the depths of your being, your kindness and beauty. You are radiant with it. I wish never to be without it, without you. I am overjoyed you have chosen me as your mate – that you would trust me with your beautiful light. I will strive to always be worthy of your love.. of your light,” and she smiled at him with beaming love in her eyes. Picard then nodded to Data.

“Neara, how can I find words to explain the awesome wonder of the emotions I have experienced with you? I was as a shell, unemotional, without understanding – and you breathed life into me. I had no idea it could be like this – I could not even conceive it. I love you – I _actually_ _love_ you, with every particle of my being. You say you see my inner light, but you were the one who switched it on. I cannot _do_ enough, _give_ enough, _be_ enough to repay the gift you have brought me. But I will endeavor all our days together to be worthy of it. I am yours completely. _Soo nah see, ka'na'la. Ka ta na, lee ka’sha_ ,” Data intoned and looked at Neara in adoration.

Pata started blubbering, “That was so beautiful!” and cried on Erda’s shoulder. She patted his back as the wedding party looked over at him.

“That is why I had Data go after me. I knew I could not follow him!” Neara laughed with tears in her eyes from Data’s touching words.

Picard resumed, “Well, I suppose I will have to. With the power vested in me as captain of the Enterprise, I now pronounce you married.” Everyone cheered. Neara and Data kissed. They turned to leave, and Data let her know she should take back her bouquet.

“Are you certain you do not want it Yara? It goes well with your outfit,” Neara commented.

“I do not need embellishment,” he assured and gave her the flowers.

They made their way from the chapel up the hill to the house. Erda was flying along behind everyone, fidgeting with her tuxedo.

“This is so uncomfortable!” she complained. “Why do we have to wear this? No one else in the wedding party is wearing one.”

“The wedding party are the people getting married and the people standing up with them, not everybody at the ceremony,” Crusher enlightened.

“Neeaarraaaaa! Why did you do this to us?!” she whined. Pata and Yara chuckled.

“I did not know. I am sorry Erda,” Neara apologized. Erda continued unhappily fidgeting. Neara looked behind her and saw.

“Here, I will change with you,” she offered. The non-Ahmriana looked visibly surprised. Crusher was glad she had filmed Neara in the dress. Neara flew back to a relieved Erda. “Just keep going. We will catch up with you,” Neara instructed, and the two women began removing their clothes.

“This is the most unique wedding I’ve ever been to,” Riker said softly to Troi, but the others still heard and giggled.

“Well, it is an Ahmriana and an android, so it’s following a theme,” Troi grinned at Riker.

Neara came flying up to face Data. Erda had a petite frame with small breasts, and the tuxedo looked roomy on her. With Neara’s medium frame and larger breasts, it fit snugly, with the tuxedo vest squishing her breasts.

“What do you think?” she asked Data. “It is a bit tight, no?”

“It does look to be binding your breasts,” he noted.

Yara flew to Neara. “Here, let me help,” and he removed the bow tie and unbuttoned the first few shirt buttons and the top button of the vest. Then he proceeded to stick his hand down her shirt and hike first one breast and then the other up, mounding them at the top of the vest. Neara looked down at the result.

“Better?” he questioned. Neara nodded. Data surveyed the effect.

“They are like pillows,” Yara noted while patting the tops of her breasts with his hands.

“Perhaps Data will sleep on them,” she speculated.

“I do not think he will want to sleep tonight,” Pata interjected from the back of the crowd and Erda laughed. Yara smiled at them and joined in. The rest gave a chuckle.

“Now you have that line,” and he ran his fingers between her breasts. “What is that called?” he asked Data.

“Cleavage,” Data responded.

“You have cleavage. You look like Deanna,” he compared.

Deanna flushed, Will grinned, and the group tittered.

They got to the house, and a meal with champagne was laid out for them on a long table. They happily ate, and Neara unbuttoned the top button of her pants.

Mid-meal, Geordi stood up and clinked his glass, “I just wanted to say a few words as the Best Man to my best friend, Data.” He placed a hand on Data’s shoulder. “How did you do it? You’re really gonna have to tell me sometime, because you must be doing something right – you’re batting _way_ out of your league!” he joked, and the guests laughed. “But in all honesty, I couldn’t be happier for you buddy. You’re the kindest person I know. You really deserve to be with someone wonderful, and I know you’ll take great care of Neara. I can see how happy you make her – how happy you’ve made each other. Which is amazing – I can actually see that you’re happy! You know this pairing is meant to be when she can actually make you feel things Data. It’s unbelievable – it’s incredible. To the incredible Neara and Data!”

“To Neara and Data!” the crowd intoned and drank.

Since they were not materialistic people, Data and Neara asked for presents of their guests’ individuality. Although that could include a physical gift, if created by the giver.

The meal had ended and, after a little more chatting, the gift giving began. Geordi, as Data’s best man, or ‘best being,’ went first. He retrieved a gift he had made of a large heart, thirty centimeters across, standing upright on a pedestal. It was constructed with engineering parts soldered together and painted Ahmrian blue. He placed it on the table in front of the couple.

“This is my creative representation of your love for each other. The mechanical parts symbolize Data being an artificial life form, and the Ahmrian blue covering it symbolizes Neara. They unite in a heart, as you two unite in love,” he elucidated.

“Geordi, this is wonderful,” Data complimented earnestly. “Thank you.”

“It is truly touching Geordi,” Neara admitted, her eyes sparkling with tears.

The next up was Worf. He performed a special warrior’s dance with his bat'leth. The group applauded and Data and Neara thanked him joyfully.

Riker followed, bringing out a metal pot on a stand, in which he made a small fire. He had graham crackers, marshmallows, and a chocolate bar. He took out two long sticks, placed a marshmallow on each, and gave them to Data and Neara.

“This is ancient, ritual, Alaskan camping food,” he explained. “You heat the marshmallows over the fire until they are golden and melting, then you sandwich them between the graham crackers and chocolate.”

Neara and Data heated their marshmallows while Will prepared the rest. When they were ready, he took the sticks from them, scraped the marshmallows off, and compressed them with the crackers. He placed a lid on the fire to extinguish it and handed the couple their treats. As they ate, they smiled at each other and Neara laughed – the marshmallow was gooey on their hands and mouths.

“Thank you for sharing your ritual food,” Neara laughed.

“Yes, thank you,” Data joined in.

Riker smiled broadly and nodded and went to sit as Troi stepped up. She stood in front of the couple.

“As your present, I am giving you the gift of a memory,” she began. “Data will remember it in perfect detail, and I know I won’t be able to repeat it verbatim, but I wanted you to hear what I remembered, Neara, because I don’t believe Data would have mentioned it to you.

“Data had come to my office to speak to me regarding a couple who were supposed to be getting married, but the woman had called off the marriage at the last minute. He asked me if I thought it was the right decision for them to get married. I said that although they were very much in love, it might not be enough, because marriage is a promise to share yourself with another, to spend your lives together, and to grow old with one another.

“I’ll never forget what he said. He asked me if growing old with another was an ‘integral component of marriage.’ I told him that it usually was, and he replied that although he was an android, he did not ‘exclude the possibility that he would someday marry.’ I told him I had no idea he had thought about getting married, and he said he believed he had ‘a lot to offer a potential mate’, but he could not grow old with them. I told him I agreed with him, he had a lot to offer.

“Obviously, you recognized that Neara, but he is not the only one with a lot to offer. You both have so much that you give to each other. You are such a magnificent couple. Your love and caring for one another is absolutely beautiful. I’m so glad your dream of being married has come true, Data. I couldn’t be happier for the both of you, my two wonderful friends. Had you heard this story before Neara?”

Neara shook her head, “No, I had not. That is a lovely story and sentiment Deanna. Thank you very much for sharing it with me and reminding Data of it. We are both very lucky to have you as our friend.”

“Indeed we are. Thank you. If you like, I can relate the incident verbatim,” Data offered.

“Perhaps you can tell me later, ka’lee,” Neara assuaged, with a pat of her hand on his.

Crusher took her turn and brought in two gifts. “I’ve seen how you have candles in your house. This is Microdorian salt. It is hollowed out inside so you can place a candle in it. When you light it and the salt warms, it emits negative ions that are very good for your health and wellbeing. This salt has the highest concentration of ions found anywhere in the universe.” She handed the candleholder to Data.

She pulled out another gift, a large hardback book. “For many generations, the women in my family have been healers. These are all the medicinal plants they’d found on the planets where they lived. There are illustrations of the plants and descriptions of their medicinal properties. I wanted to share this part of myself with you both, and hopefully your people as well Neara.” She handed the book to her.

Neara opened it, examining some pages, and Data looked over. “This is very beautiful Beverly. We are honored to receive this gift. And the candleholder is very thoughtful, thank you,” Neara graciously accepted.

“The illustrations are quite detailed. Your foremothers were very talented,” Data added. “Thank you very much.”

Crusher smiled and took her seat. Picard rose with his champagne glass and went to face the couple.

“Those of you who know me know of my appreciation for the human writer, William Shakespeare. I have chosen a sonnet of his that I feel most appropriately expresses the depth and breadth of love that one can feel for another – the love that I see Neara and Data have found in each other…

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

Oh no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved…

I am happy for the good fortune that brought you this love. To Data and Neara!”

“To Data and Neara!” the crowd cheered and drank to them. Data and Neara both thanked Picard for his moving words.

Neara’s family got up and gathered in front of the couple. Leyna spoke, “Neara and Data have told us of a situation they wish to help. As our gift, we will send a special harmonic to this cause now.” The family all got down on their left knees and placed the palms of their right hands on the ground. They sang. It was very loud and grew in intensity, both in volume and the corresponding vibration. Notes were added and continually modulated. Items in the room were rattling and the ground was shaking. The guests had to cover their ears. When they thought it might be too much more to bear, the Ahmriana stopped.

“Thank you very much Tahtee, everyone,” Neara acknowledged with a nod to her family.

“Thank you. That was remarkable,” Data said in appreciation.

The wedding guests moved outside for the dancing portion of the evening. There was a dance floor set out on the grass, and Data had programmed music for the event.

Data and Neara had a first dance together. It was Olivia Newton John’s “Magic” which had become ‘their song.’ The rest of the group then joined in, Seyta even managing to drag Worf onto the dance floor.

Everybody was dancing with one another, the Ahmriana a little inebriated from the champagne. Yara called out to his sister mischievously, “Be careful Neara, you do not want your breasts to pop out!”

“But they might wish to fly free!” she laughed.

The dancers were switching partners then dancing in groups when Data came over to Neara. “This is a special song I chose for the occasion,” he stated. She left her group to start dancing with him.

They were moving to the first chords and then the lyrics belt out, “You got me feeling emotions…” and Neara started laughing in pure elation. As the rest of Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” played, she could not stop smiling.

The group was having a lot of fun – even Worf remained on the dance floor, succumbing to Seyta’s persistence.

At one point, Yara, Erda, and Pata were dancing, flying around over Data and Neara’s heads. Neara looked up. “I can see up your dress!” she chuckled in amusement.

Erda started scissoring her legs laughing, “Good airflow!”

Data was used to his new family, but their behavior was very different from other species he knew – much less inhibited. He watched their interaction with a wide smile. Neara hoped he was close to laughter.

As the dance portion of the evening drew to a close, Data told Neara she had one more thing to do. She had to toss the bouquet. He instructed that she would turn away from the group and throw the bouquet over her shoulder, after which she could look back.

“Erda,” Neara called, “where are the flowers?” Neara had given Erda the flowers when they changed clothing, because she assumed the flowers went with the dress.

“I left them on the table,” Erda replied, and she flew in and brought them out to Neara. The music stopped, and Data got everybody’s attention.

“Neara is now going to perform the bouquet toss. Its folklore states that whoever catches the bouquet will be the next to marry,” Data explained to the Ahmriana.

Riker and Troi took a few steps away from the crowd. Geordi and Worf tried to do the same, and Riker stopped them with a, “Oh no, you don’t – that’s an order!” and a gentle shove back into the group.

Neara turned her back to them, then launched her bouquet into the air. After it left her hands, she turned to look. The bouquet went sailing in a high arch then rocketed down to hit Worf squarely in the face. It dropped to the ground in front of him. He let out a quiet snarl, and everyone started laughing.

“Well, that landed like a lead balloon,” Geordi observed, eliciting more laughter.

The night was over and it was time to go in. Everyone left the gathering with smiles on their faces, except Worf. Seyta floated beside him carrying the bouquet. “Do not look so glum. At least you have flowers,” she cajoled. His only response was a low growl.


	23. Wedding Night

Neara and Data hugged goodnight to the guests, then went to their room. Neara was floating in front of Data giving him kisses as he ascended the stairs, crossed the landing, then closed the door behind them.

They kicked off their shoes and Neara went to unbutton her vest when Data stopped her. “Would you leave that on please,” he requested.

“Oh, you like,” Neara replied playfully with raised eyebrows. “Shall I keep the face paint on as well?” she asked.

“Yes. The look is very different,” he appreciated.

“Like being with another person, eh?” she chuckled. “OK. But may I take the pants off please? It will be very difficult to have sex otherwise,” she observed.

“Yes, of course,” Data consented.

Neara quickly removed her pants. “Ahh freedom!” she rejoiced. “Now you must remove your clothing. Do it slowly. I will watch you,” Neara commanded and lay across the bed, eagerly awaiting her show.

Data did not know why Neara would want him to remove his clothes slowly, but he complied with her request. He took his time removing his dress tunic, then Neara stood on her knees on the bed and beckoned him over. She put a hand on his back and drew him close, the other trailing across his chest. She did that sensual kiss-suck she had done so many times before, across his chest. She sucked on his nipple and reached down to unbutton and unzip his pants.

She sat back on her ankles and Data started slowly pulling them down when Neara commanded, “Turn around.” As he bent over in the process, he felt Neara’s nails gently run up his thigh over his buttocks.

He turned back. He was already aroused. Neara looked pleased. “Come sit in the bed,” she instructed. Data got in and sat, his legs out in front of him, and Neara floated over to straddle him. She started kissing him, rubbing her genitals against his. She eventually guided him in, just the tip, playing with him. She liked feeling him there for a bit before sinking down on him.

She was rotating her hips, enjoying the sensation. She looked to see their connection and pushed down to take him in when she felt resistance. Data was holding her, low on the hips, and was preventing her from moving further onto him. Neara looked up at Data, her eyes wide, her mouth forming an O of surprise. She looked down, determined. She started pushing down harder, then brought the strength of her flight to bear.

Data’s eyes were locked on Neara’s face. She looked up with wild eyes and took a breath, then looked down and flew at him, hard. She looked up again and her brow furrowed, she let out a little whine, looked back down, gritted her teeth and flew at him. Data was using a considerable amount of force to keep her in place. Exactly how fast could the Ahmriana fly? He would have to let her down gently – control her descent so she would not hurt herself.

He finally decided she had had enough, and he let her sink onto him. Her eyes closed and her head tilted back and she let out a guttural, “Aauughhh!” She was very wet and swollen around him. Her eyes opened to look at him with primal greed, “Yooouuu, yoouu,” she sighed, “you know me dangerously well. You are dangerous, dangerous being.” She pulled him close and kissed him lustfully as they rode to orgasm.

Picard was hiding out downstairs, waiting for everyone to go to bed. He thought he’d wait a while in the hopes of avoiding Leyna. She found him anyway.

“Jean-Luc, do you wish not to be with me? If so, all you have to do is say it,” Leyna indicated.

“I think it would be more appropriate if we didn’t repeat last night,” he replied.

“I do not understand. Do you wish to do something different sexually than what we did last night? Or do you think it was not appropriate we had sex last night?” Leyna asked.

“The latter,” he answered and saw her confusion. He clarified, “The second question.”

“Ah,” she uttered in understanding, “Why? Are you.. _with_ another?”

“No, but as the captain of a ship at a function with other beings, acting as an unofficial representative, it doesn’t seem fitting,” he awkwardly explained.

Leyna stepped close, “But as the unofficial representative of Ahmria, I do feel it is fitting. It is helpful for our cultural relations.”

She wrapped her arm around him and pulled him in for a kiss. As with the night before, he did not resist.

Data was lying in bed, caressing a now-naked Neara, reflecting on their last days’ lovemaking. They both agreed, the flying lovemaking session was a rather special experience.

There was a knock at their door, and Yara let himself in. He was carrying a towel and a bottle. He placed them on the nightstand.

“I thought I would give you a wedding present,” Neara said, indicating Yara. “You have never been with a male, and I thought you might appreciate this.”

Data knew that Yara was a fallasha. Ahmriana had their ka’falla, love celebration, on their sixteenth birthday. This is when they had their first sexual experience involving another person. That person was one (or multiple depending on how many they chose) fallasha. Yara was very adept, being chosen quite frequently.

“Would you like to be with me Data?” Yara asked. “If you would prefer no other than Neara, or prefer not to be with a male, or prefer to choose another male fallasha when you are next on Ahmria, I would not be offended.”

Neara looked at Data expectantly. “I would like to be with you Yara,” Data consented. “But will it not be awkward I am your sister’s ka’sha?”

“No. Neara has been with my ka’sha, so it will not be awkward,” Yara informed.

Data turned to Neara, “I did not realize you had been with your brother’s ka’sha. Is this an Ahmrian practice?”

“It is not a practice, but it is done. There is nothing unusual about it,” Neara conveyed.

“And would you remain in the room or take part in this act?” Data asked Neara.

“Since were are bonded, it is customary we would share any sexual experience,” Neara stated. “Although, I will not share intimacy with Yara. This experience is for you ka’lee.”

Yara disrobed and slid into bed beside Data. Data was lying on his back, Neara on one side, Yara on the other. Yara and Neara looked at each other and smiled, then Neara lovingly kissed Data. Then Yara passionately kissed Data. They brought their lips together and the three kissed at once. Neara and Yara gave a little laugh and smiled, then looked at Data with sultry hunger.

Yara started kissing down his neck, caressing his chest, while Neara was kissing from his hand slowly up his arm. Data thought it was a most wondrous feeling – the sensation of two mouths on his body. He got an erection, and Yara reached down and fondled it.

As Yara was kissing his way down Data’s body, he draped his leg over Data’s, and Data could feel Yara’s erection pressing against his thigh. He had felt his own erection, of course, but this was very different. Although Neara gave clear indications of her arousal, this was an overt physical manifestation. Data found he enjoyed being the cause of it.

He was concentrating on the moment, the feeling of two pairs of hands running over his body, the two mouths kissing and sucking on him, Neara’s soft body against one side and Yara’s hard body against the other, Neara’s hand combing his hair while kissing up his neck, the pleasant buzz in his brain.

Yara had made his way down to Data’s erection and took it in his mouth. Since his head, and therefore mouth, was larger, he was able to take it all the way in, practically swallowing it. It felt wonderful.

Neara was looking down at this with greed and excitement. “Do you like that Data?” she whispered in his ear, caressing his face. “Does it feel good?”

“Yes,” Data sighed intently, “Yes it does.”

Yara obviously enjoyed what he was doing and was very good at it. Neara was masturbating herself and kissing Data deeply. He could tell she was very excited. Neara had told him before how much she enjoyed watching males give each other oral pleasure. She got up and straddled his face, rubbing her genitals against his mouth. He opened his mouth and pushed out his tongue slightly. She took in a breath through gritted teeth and grabbed a handful of his hair. She rode on his face while Yara sucked and swallowed him until Data and Neara came together in one explosive orgasm.

Then Neara and Yara floated into place, sandwiching Data with their bodies, caressing him and kissing him deeply.

“You must not leave Yara unattended, ka’lee. That would be impolite,” Neara directed.

“Only if you want Data,” Yara asserted.

“I do want,” Data assured.

Neara then pushed Data’s shoulder, and he rolled to face Yara. Yara kissed him tenderly and stroked down Data’s back. Data could feel Neara’s hand combing his hair. As Yara pulled him close in a passionate kiss, Data could feel their erections beside each other, pushing against the other’s body, hot and hard.

Yara reached behind him and retrieved the bottle he had brought. It was lube, and he poured some in his hand. He rubbed it on their erections and then wrapped his hand around them and rubbed them against each other. It felt marvelous.

They looked down, then back up at each other in fervid excitement.

“I would like to see you take him in your mouth,” Neara whispered to Data sensually.

Data was eager to oblige Neara’s request, and started kissing Yara’s neck, down his body. Yara released his hand and rolled on his back. He caressed Data’s face in enjoyment.

When he got to Yara’s erection, he thought he would do what Neara did to him the first time she gave him oral sex. He opened his mouth and breathed over the shaft, but unlike Data, Yara appeared to have an involuntary muscle convulsion. His muscles contracted lifting his erection, attempting to reach his mouth. Data felt pleased he could elicit this reaction. He placed his mouth over the tip and breathed out, and the muscle contraction happened again, the tip hitting the corner of his mouth. He closed his mouth over him before Yara’s erection could fall back.

He took Yara all the way into his mouth. Data had no gag reflex, so it was easily done. He moved his head up and down, sucking on Yara just as he had done on him. Data tasted something – the alkaline protein of Yara’s pre-ejaculate.

Yara stopped him and beckoned him up. They turned on their sides and held each other. Yara kissed him sensually.

“May I be inside of you Data?” Yara asked fervently.

Data had been penetrated by Neara. She would occasionally put a finger inside him while giving him oral sex, or she would penetrate him with a dildo, but this would certainly feel different. “Yes, I would like that experience with you Yara,” Data agreed.

He turned on his other side to face Neara. She had that look of excited greed again, and she gave him a red-hot passionate kiss. She wrapped her hand around his erection and stroked it as she kissed him. She turned around and spooned him, placing his erection against her slick genitals and rubbing on it.

Yara had put on more lube, then guided Data with his hand to tilt his hips towards him. He slowly pushed in, and Data was amazed at the difference in feeling. Although he was hard, he was somehow soft – softer than the dildo. And he was hot, whereas the dildo was room temperature.

The movement of Yara inside of him was magical. He felt desired, and somehow possessed. Then Neara pushed onto him. He was sandwiched between them in a rolling motion, Yara pushing in, then he into Neara, then Yara pulling back, then he pulling back from Neara. It was the most amazing sensation.

Neara had reached back, her hand on Data’s head, Data’s hand on her breast. Yara had his hand on Data’s hip, directing the rhythm, kissing his shoulder, his neck.

Data felt so good – it was incredible. So much passion, love, lust, desire, belonging.

Yara was moving faster – he was getting close to climax. Neara was bouncing against him. She had moved her hand to his thigh, grabbing and squeezing it, pulling him towards her. It was as if they were both vying for his affection, greedy for his full attention, his full love, his whole body.

Neara came, then Data came, then Yara came in rapid succession. Data felt Neara’s vagina spasm around him while at the same time, he felt Yara pumping ejaculate into him. The fluid was hot, and was yet again another overt physical manifestation of his ardor. He felt completely consumed and satiated.

Yara withdrew and used the towel to wipe them both clean. Data withdrew from Neara, and she turned to face him and practically devoured his mouth in kisses.

Yara turned Data’s face to him and kissed him tenderly. He then gave Neara’s hair a stroke and her a quick kiss.

“I will leave you two now to enjoy the rest of your wedding night,” Yara said and got out of bed. He quickly dressed and left the couple to their state of glorious rapture.


	24. Earth Outing

It was the third day of the wedding gathering, and today the group was going to visit places of interest on Earth. Picard had requested the senior staff stay for this day as a show of hospitality to the Ahmriana. Afterwards, they would come back and stay overnight at Chateau Picard, and the next morning everyone except Picard, Data, and the Ahmriana would leave to visit friends and relatives during their final four days on the planet.

Worf, Riker, Troi, Crusher, and Geordi were sitting around the table having breakfast. Picard was on the sofa reading, having already eaten. The Ahmriana were at the breakfast bar. Pata was standing at the far end leaning against the wall with his arm on the bar, and Yara was standing in front of him, stroking Pata’s arm. Erda was sitting beside them on a stool happily eating, and Seyta was on the stool beside her doing the same. The two seats beside Seyta were left unoccupied for Neara and Data. Leyna was in the next stool with Jossa beside her, looking at a tablet.

Neara and Data came out of their room. Neara went to the bathroom at the end of the hall and Data continued downstairs. People intoned good morning and Leyna beckoned him over to the seat beside her.

He sat and she stroked his back and showed him the tablet. “We are looking to see where we are to visit today. Would you help us find these places on the map please Data?” she requested. Data obliged and Leyna put her head right next to his, Jossa bending close to get a better look.

“Data have you tried this before? It is called oatmeal,” Seyta’s voice was raised in exhilaration.

The family started talking excitedly to him in Ahmrian. Data responded in Ahmrian, the sound of their conversation creating a melodious cacophony.

The group at the table looked over, then Troi and Crusher smiled at each other. It was wonderful to see their friend being so fondly treated and included by his new family. They really did love him.

Yara was staring into Pata’s eyes, gently stroking his face, and then he kissed him deeply. Worf saw out of the corner of his eye, and his face soured.

“Why do these people wear the same clothes? They do not seem to know the difference between men and women,” he grumbled.

“What difference are you referring to Worf?” Deanna asked, innocently. He harrumphed.

“I’ve learned a few things about Ahmriana culture speaking with their Prime Healer,” Beverly started. “They have a very different outlook which is reflected in their language. They don’t emphasize gender – it’s practically nonexistent. They don’t have words for mother, father, sister, brother, only sibling, child, parent zero, one, two, and so on, depending on how many parents they have. If necessary, they’ll say female or male sibling or parent or child, but it’s very rarely needed. Just like some Earth languages, Ahmrian also doesn’t use gendered pronouns. They don’t use she, he, her, his, they just use the generic term ‘xe’ when referring to an individual. It’s much clearer than our attempts in English to use ‘they’ or ‘them’ to refer to a singular person. So they would say, ‘Would xe like to go with us?’ Or, ‘Are those xe’s shoes?’ It’s just not important that they point out a person’s gender in every single statement they make. Neara said this was difficult when she learned our language. She had to consciously think ‘what gender is this person’ and choose the correct pronoun. Frankly, their language sounds quite liberating to me.”

“Ahh,” Deanna sighed, “I think I was born into the wrong culture. Perhaps we should push the English language to use ‘xe’ as the pronoun, like the Mx title,” Crusher smiled and nodded her agreement.

Neara floated down the stairs and sat beside Data, everyone bidding her good morning. She got her breakfast and started eating, looking over at the map.

Pata informed the assembled, “It is very bright outside today. It hurts my eyes.” The sky was clear, unlike the previous two overcast days, allowing the sun’s full force through.

“I can make you some sunglasses in the replicator,” Geordi offered. “One of you will have to test out different pairs to make certain they’re blocking out the spectrum where you need them to.”

“I will do it,” Pata instantly volunteered. Geordi got up and went to the replicator with Pata.

“We will also need…” Leyna thought, but could not find the word, “What is it called Data? It goes on the head and sticks out around flat?”

“You mean a hat?” Data verified.

“Yes, a hatah,” Leyna affirmed.

“No Tahtee, it is only hat,” Yara corrected.

“Hatehh,” Leyna tried.

“Hat, like fatat,” Yara instructed.

“HAT!” Leyna said sharply.

“It is not angry like fatat, just sounds like fatat,” Yara clarified.

“Hat-ehh… hat-ehh… no, I cannot do it,” Leyna admitted.

“Alright,” he said to Data, “Tahtee will have hateh and the rest will have angry hat.” Erda, Seyta, and Neara giggled.

“You are a terrible being Yara. I do not know how I raised such a terrible Ahmriana,” Leyna kidded, and Yara flew over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her.

Pata had gone outdoors, trying different glasses until he found the ones he liked. He came in wearing them.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“You look like a bug person,” Yara said as he and Erda floated over to him. “A very sexy bug person.”

“Yes, sexy bug person,” Erda agreed while she and Yara caressed Pata’s chest.

“You must wear them to bed tonight. I have not had sex with a bug person before!” Yara enthused. Erda laughed and smiled with delight at the thought.

The group got ready to go, the Ahmriana all in wide-brim hats and large sunglasses, and took a shuttle to the nearest transporter doorway. Their first destination was the pyramids of Giza. When they saw them, the Ahmriana excitedly sang to each other.

“Ah, you have taken us to see your…” Leyna started, then turned to Data and spoke Ahmrian.

“Amplifiers,” Data stated.

“Amplifiers,” Leyna echoed.

“What do you mean?” Picard asked.

“The structures you call pyramids, they are amplifiers. They increase the strength of the harmonic,” she explained. “There are energy lines…”

“You mean ley lines,” Data clarified.

“Yes, ley lines, stretching across your planet. These amplifiers built over them increase their strength. Here, we will show you.” She nodded to the Ahmriana and they knelt down and placed their hands on an invisible line.

They sang a couple of chords and, like a string vibrating, the group felt its pulse in the ground and the air around them, heading in either direction. The sound hit the pyramids and traveled up through them, it seemed to hit the sky and thunder, then get reflected back into the pyramids to be channeled along the ley line at tremendous amplification. By the time it reached them, the sound was so loud, they had to cover their ears.

“Amazing,” was all Picard could utter.

“Of course, it is amplifying sounds outside the hearing range of beings on this planet,” Leyna assured. “The notes are very low and powerful, but you should still be able to feel it.”

Next the group went to the Grand Canyon. They were looking over the edge when Seyta pushed Geordi off. He was screaming as he fell, then Seyta flew beside him and slowed his descent.

“That wasn’t funny Seyta,” Geordi said clutching his chest. “I nearly had a heart attack!”

Seyta could not help herself, she was grinning, “I am sorry Geordi. I did not realize you would be so scared. I thought you knew we would fly you down, and I thought you might appreciate the feel of falling. I find it exhilarating.”

“Perhaps you can let me know before doing that. Not knowing is a little _too_ exhilarating for me,” Geordi gasped, and Seyta stroked his arm to comfort him. The rest of the group, excluding Neara and Data, flew down to join them.

“We will have to wait for my family to return to help fly you down,” Neara informed Data. “I am sorry we are unable to join them. It is safer if they only use their strength to fly themselves and you.”

“I assumed as much,” Data affirmed. “It is fine, I understand.”

They watched everyone as far as they could, until they flew out of sight. They could hear whooping, hollering, and laughter echoing up the canyon. The party was having fun. It would be an unforgettable experience for them.

It was a while before Neara’s family returned. The couple was waiting patiently for them, hand-in-hand, looking over the edge when they flew into view.

“Are you ready now Data?” Jossa asked in his booming voice. Data nodded and he felt his body being floated up and over the canyon. They were flying as a group, rapidly, over the snaking terrain. It was magnificent. They turned him slowly so he could see the jagged walls of the canyon, the blue of the sky, the sparkling river below.

“Great Universe you are heavy Data,” Yara exclaimed. “Have you put on weight?” and the rest of the family laughed.

“Apparently feathers weigh more on Earth than on Ahmria,” Data joked back. The group laughed again.

“Good one Data,” Pata praised.

“Then birds here are flying boulders!” Seyta grouched and the family kept laughing and having fun until they reached the others.

The tour continued with Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, then Stonehenge, which was another harmonic amplifier. This time, the sound ricocheted between the stones, creating a column of vibration stretching into the sky and going deep into the Earth.

During this demonstration, Data and Neara were staring at each other, as if they were mesmerized by the other, touching each other in adoration. Neara pulled Data close and kissed him. Leyna looked over, saw what was happening, and spoke in rapid Ahmrian with Yara and his ka’sha. They went to the couple and floated them away.

“They will be back momentarily. Please, tell me more about this structure,” Leyna bid Picard, and he continued to tell the Ahmriana about it, along with the history of the area.

The five finally flew back and the group proceeded to the Great Barrier Reef underwater observatory. The Ahmriana were fascinated watching the sea creatures, murmuring in awe. They touched the glass and fish came up. They moved their hands and the fish moved with them. This delighted them no end. They smiled and laughed with joy.

Picard provided sandwiches for everyone to eat while they sat on the benches and watched the sea life. Neara and Data were staring at each other again, feeding the other their sandwich. Neara pushed the sandwiches aside and straddled Data, kissing him.

“Yara, there is a bathroom over there,” Leyna indicated. “Will you put them in it please?” Yara went over and bundled the couple into the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

“I am afraid, Jean-Luc, the tour must end here. We must get them back,” Leyna informed. “We have performed the bonding ceremony too well. This effect was not to start for another day, but they are moving into the ka’nashta. They will not be able to resist each other for the next two days.”

“Alright then,” Picard agreed. He didn’t know what the ka’nashta was, but if Neara and Data’s behavior was any indication, it would be prudent to heed her instruction.

When the couple emerged, the group took transporter doorways to Paris, France where they went to board a shuttle back to Chateau Picard. The shuttle had two rows of bench seats, three on one side and two on the other. They sat three people each, except for the back bench which sat two. There was a bathroom across the aisle from it.

“Put them in the back,” Leyna instructed Yara, and he guided them to the two person bench. Yara and his ka’sha took the bench in front of them. Riker, Troi, and Crusher took the bench across from Yara.

The shuttle lifted off, and Neara went to straddle Data again. Yara was turned around in his seat, up on his knees looking over the back, watching. Neara had a flowing skirt that was covering Data’s lap, so nothing could be seen, but it was obvious she was pulling down his pants. They started fucking.

Yara spoke Ahmrian to his ka’sha, and they turned to look. They were obviously amused. The couple were staring at each other intently, as if in a dream state, their arms wrapped around each other. Then they began glowing a pale Ahmrian blue.

Yara reached over his seat and touched Neara. He took in a sharp breath, his eyes wide, his mouth open, “Oooohhhh, that is amazing! It is like an Ahmrian energy storm.” Erda and Pata reached over their seats and touched, both exhibiting the same pleasure. They smiled and nodded and laughed to each other.

Crusher, Troi, and Riker had surreptitiously watched the entire interaction. Yara looked over at them, “You should feel this. It is amazing!”

“I don’t know that we should – we wouldn’t want to disturb them,” Crusher said.

“I do not believe you could disturb them at all. Here I will show you,” and he proceeded to raise his voice and poke his sister. “Neara! Neara! Can you hear me? Data! Data! Listen to me – I am speaking to you!” They did not react, they simply continued to fuck. “See? They do not even know we are here. Fire Healer,” the Ahmriana called Crusher this, probably because of her red hair, and also to differentiate her from their Prime Healer, “you must feel this… for medical research,” he urged Crusher.

Crusher had to admit, she was curious. “Alright,” she agreed, and stood up to touch them. When she did, a feeling washed over her like the most powerful orgasm she had ever felt – shuddering through her body, ending in a beautiful afterglow. “Wow! You have to try this Deanna.”

Deanna and Will got up and laid hands on the couple and had the same powerful reaction.

“That's incredible!” Troi exclaimed.

“I wish we were given that for our wedding,” Riker reflected.

The front row non-Ahmriana seemed a little uneasy with the shenanigans. Leyna looked back, then forward. “I am sorry, we are being very Ahmriana. We are not concerned with public sex or family members having sex, but I understand that makes some other beings uncomfortable. For this, I do apologize,” she said sincerely. “We will place them in their room as soon as we arrive.”

Just then, Chateau Picard came into view on the distant horizon. Neara and Data’s rhythm was picking up. Data had his hand up Neara’s shirt, stroking her nipple. They came as the shuttle reached the property, kissing each other deeply.

Once they touched down, Leyna stood up “You three,” she said, indicating Yara, Erda, and Pata, “take them to their room immediately.”

Pata went to Neara and gently removed her from Data’s lap and started flying her off the shuttle. She turned back, put out her hand, and let out a small whimper.

“Do not worry Neara, he will be right behind us,” Pata assured.

Erda and Yara pulled Data’s pants back on and flew him out, laughing at the effort. Once they were out the door, they immediately dropped down, but managed to stay above the ground and float back up. They quickly caught up to Pata and Neara and made their way to the house.

The rest of the day, Neara and Data remained in their room. Leyna tried to get Neara to eat something, but she was too preoccupied. They were still in their room the next morning, and Neara still wasn’t interested in food.

The guests were going to leave after breakfast. The entire time following their return, they could hear the couple mating. They were sitting around the table talking and eating when they all heard Neara sing, “Fana, fana, fana, fana!” The Ahmriana started laughing, Jossa’s booming laugh punctuated by his hand hitting the table.

“It means ‘perfect,’” Erda said.

“Erda…” Leyna admonished.

“They pushed the question into my mind. I was just answering it,” Erda defended.

Yara grinned and said in a singsong voice, “Data is perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect!”

“That is very perfect,” kidded Pata. The guests grinned and the Ahmriana laughed, all except for Leyna. Picard and Worf were not amused either.

Leyna let out a burst of nine Ahmrian words, all on the same note. It seemed to be a command, and the Ahmriana stopped laughing. But they looked at each other and grinned like naughty children.

Soon it would be time for Picard’s crew to leave, and he would be left on his own with the Ahmriana and the amorous couple. He hadn’t expected the visit to go this way. He didn’t know he would have to deal with the ka’nashta, and the Ahmriana were much more boisterous and uninhibited than Neara’s behavior led him to believe. Perhaps she took after her mother to some degree. Leyna had an inner strength and calm Picard found very appealing. He was glad he would have her stabilizing company for the duration.


	25. Back On Board

The time on Earth had ended, and Data and Neara were back on the ship with Yara in tow. He was interested to see what his sibling’s life was like aboard the vessel and would spend a week in exploration. Of course the rest of the family was equally interested, but Leyna thought it prudent to allow only one family member so as not to interfere overly with the couple’s return to routine. Picard had offered Yara guest quarters, but he opted to stay with Neara and Data.

Yara was on the couch petting Spot. Reggie had kindly taken care of her while Data and Neara were on Earth getting married. During their absence, Neara had a ledge installed below the ceiling with two cat towers reaching it, giving Spot more room to explore and play. Spot had already made use of it, but at the moment, preferred Yara’s attention.

Earlier in the day, Neara had shown Yara around the ship, then left him to his own devices. She instructed him to return before dinner, because Captain Picard would be hosting them this evening. He spent most of that time in Ten Forward getting to know the crew. They were easy to talk to and very friendly with him. He especially liked Guinan.

Neara and Data emerged from the bedroom, Neara glowing with joy from the lovemaking session they just had. She came over and stroked Yara and Spot, a wide smile on her face.

“Are you hungry yet ka’leetee?” she asked.

“I cannot move. Spot will not let me leave,” Yara indicated.

Just then, Data placed Spot’s food on the floor and Spot went racing over.

“I see. I am nothing but a warm lap to you,” he said in mock hurt.

“She has her priorities,” Data stated, and his family laughed.

They made their way to Picard’s quarters and chatted with the other guests as more filtered in. It was all of Data’s people from the wedding and Guinan, whom Yara was very happy to see.

They talked and ate and ended the meal with small glasses of port from Chateau Picard. Yara found it to be very strong, much stronger than the Champagne at the wedding, of which he and the other Ahmriana were only allowed one glass. The feeling was indeed much more powerful. He looked over at his sibling and could tell it was affecting her the same way. They smiled at each other and laughed.

Guinan asked Yara a question, “I understand you have some kind of love ceremony on your sixteenth birthday and that you help with that in some way?”

“Yes, I am a fallasha. We guide the person in their first experience,” Yara explained.

“Their first experience of what?” Troi asked.

“Their first sexual experience with another person,” he answered. The group look surprised.

“This is a coming of age rite for the Ahmriana,” Data elucidated. “There are many fallasha, and the fallatee, the one coming of age, can choose as many fallasha as they wish for this experience.”

“How many are usually chosen?” Crusher asked.

“Usually three. Usually one of each body type – a female, a male, and an intersex,” Yara answered, his words slurring slightly, his eyes becoming glassy.

“I had one of each,” Neara stated, glassy eyed and slowly enunciating, “but Yara had _six_! He is greeeedy.”

“Ha ha!” he cackled. “I like to see them together,” he said earnestly, weaving his fingers into each other. “It was very interesting, very beautiful, very sexy,” he smiled dreamily.

“Do you have to have any special qualifications or training?” Riker asked and Troi hit him on the arm. He turned to her, “What, I’m just making conversation!”

The Ahmriana laughed. “I like to have a lot of sex and can go multiple times. I like to please,” Yara explained. “I am very good with the inexperienced – very gentle and very patient. I enjoy guiding them through this time. It is special – a privilege for me.”

“ _And_ , he is very beautiful! Let us not forget they enjoy his physical beauty,” Neara remarked.

“But what if you don’t want to be with them?” Geordi questioned.

Neara and Yara looked at each other in disbelief, then started laughing.

“Can you imagine?” Neara laughed.

“No, I cannot,” Yara laughed back.

“Here is this fallatee… ‘Oh, I would like Yara,’” Neara said with her hands clasped, looking coquettish, “and Yara says, ‘No.’ Can you imagine?” the two Ahmriana laughed drunkenly. “The poor fallatee would be so hurt. No say ‘no.’”

“No say ‘no,’” Yara laughingly agreed.

“I suppose when you put it like that, it would be kinda cruel,” Geordi and the rest agreed.

“There is something I was confused about and was hoping you would clarify for me,” Crusher addressed the Ahmriana. “Jossa is Seyta’s tahtee, but isn’t tahtee used for the first person to give birth in a committed group? Assuming Jossa is a male, that is.”

“Yes, Jossa is a male, and yes, tahtee is customarily used for the first person to give birth,” Neara explained, “but Jossa is Seyta’s only ahtee, or parent. He wanted to have a child and met a female who wanted to experience childbirth, but did not want to raise a child. Because of this, she would not have any parental title. Jossa is the only parent, so he is Tahtee.”

“Has Seyta met her birth mother?” Crusher asked.

“Again, she has no parental title, so birth mother would not be appropriate. Perhaps surrogate?” Neara suggested. “Yes, she has met the woman who gave birth to her. She is nice. She is just not interested in children. She talks to her more now that she is an adult.”

“So no one pressures you to have children?” Deanna asked, glancing at Will. Her mother had really been harping on them recently.

“Well,” Yara looked at his sibling, “I know Tahtee would like me to have children soon, but she does not pressure us. She just loves children, and I think would love to spoil grandchildren.”

“And then send them home to you to deal with the spoiling fallout,” Crusher bemoaned the memory.

“Look at the bright side,” Guinan exalted. “The ritual of dealing with spoiled children, then spoiling grandchildren is passed down through the generations and bridges many a cultural divide. We can all come together in the knowledge that we will do this through the ages and find comfort in our shared grief and joy.”

Everyone laughed, and in that moment, Yara thought Guinan was the most beautiful person in the universe.

While Yara was on the ship, they had another dance party during which Yara flew people above the dance floor, to their surprise and utter joy. Neara flew some people with Yara, but mostly stayed with Data. Even though the ka’nashta had subsided two days after it began, Neara and Data were still feeling the aftereffects. They still felt a pull to be near each other and spent their time dancing closely, staring at one another.

The night before Yara was to leave for Ahmria, Neara held a concert in the holodeck. Lately, there had been times Data listened to music and felt emotions, enlisting Troi’s help to decipher them afterwards. To help facilitate these newfound feelings, Neara had surreptitiously composed a symphony for him under the guise of listening to music. She had studied very carefully all the human instruments and hoped she had created something special that would move Data emotionally.

She stood in front of the holographic orchestra and directed them, like she had seen humans do. The piece had three movements, and as the notes rose and fell Neara realized, from this position, she could not see Data’s reaction. Perhaps directing was not a good idea after all, but there seemed to be a formality about this, so she would keep to the human custom and continue.

When the piece had finished, there was a pregnant pause in the room, then applause erupted. Neara turned and bowed, like she had seen the humans do – she still thought it was funny how they applauded things. They stood up and clapped – that meant they really liked it. She looked at their faces and they were filled with emotions of awe, joy, and wonder. She had moved them, but the one she truly cared about was Data. She looked at his face and could not read it. She went over to him, everyone converging on her to pat her back, shake her hand, and congratulate her. She smiled and thanked them and told them she was glad they enjoyed it, then she looked probingly at Data.

“Did you like it La’Ma?” she asked hesitantly.

“That was the most beautiful music I have ever heard,” Data marveled. “How many other things can you do that I do not know of?”

Neara laughed and smiled, “I did not know this was an extraordinary ability.”

Yara had come up beside them and heard the exchange. “Ahmriana can hear the universal harmonic, so we can hear music in the universe,” he enlightened. “Of course, it gets translated through our own selves – our own personalities. Neara is very gifted at hearing the music, and she is a beautiful being, so her music reflects this. If it is the most beautiful music you have ever heard, it is probably because, for you, she is the most beautiful being you have ever known.”

Data reached out and touched her face, “She _is_ the most beautiful being I have ever known.”

Yara rubbed Neara and Data’s backs and laughed happily, rejoicing in their love.

During his stay, Yara had slept in Neara and Data’s bed, sometimes joining them in their lovemaking sessions. While his family were sleeping, Data would get up to give them room in the bed, seeing as he did not need sleep and also knowing how much Neara moved around at night.

He would come back in the morning and slip in beside Neara, spooning up against her. He missed being there during the night – he still liked watching her sleep and liked being there when she awoke.

Yara was dropped at an Ahmrian doorway planet, but it would be nine months before the Enterprise was traveling close enough for Data and Neara to take shore leave on Ahmria. Data wished his friends could know about the doorways, they could visit Neara’s family much more frequently, but he had given her his word.

Little did he know circumstances would soon dictate the Enterprise’s need to go to Ahmria. Data and Neara would be at the planet in seven months, instead of the expected nine.


	26. Qurious

Q popped onto the bridge in his captain’s uniform with typical flare, “Hellooo mon Capitaine!” Everyone, including Data, turned to look. “Have you missed me? Well, I already know the answer to that – _of course_ you have!” He stopped, his face frozen. Then his eyebrow raised, “Now _what_ do we have here?”

Instantly Neara appeared on the bridge. She looked down at herself, then up at her surroundings and saw Q. “Awww _fatat!”_ she swore and started yelling at Q in rapid Ahmrian while waving her hand from side to side repeatedly, as if she was waving him away. With each wave, dozens of tones played, and she varied them each time. Many of the beginning tones were within the crew’s hearing range.

“Now you know how the Q hate that singsong Ahmrian language of yours. I wasn’t planning on staying long, but how about this? I’ll add five additional minutes to the clock for each word of Ahmrian you utter.” With that, a large clock appeared behind him.

Neara muttered under her breath and five minutes was added. She silenced herself and continued her waving.

“Is that any way to treat an old friend?” Q asked, gesturing to her hand. “Trying to wave away my harmonic state? I thought we could catch up, since I haven’t been able to see you.”

He continued with interest, “So what are you doing on my captain’s ship, Weaver?… Not going to tell me? I’ll find out eventually. When I’m done here, I’ll flip through this timeline like flipping through the pages of a book,” he said with a flick of his hand, then grinned. “But it _is_ so lovely to see you again. How are your family, the handsome Leyna and the stunning Yara?” he drawled. “You Ahmriana are such an attractive and joyful people. I _have_ missed our times together. I don’t even hold what you did against you – that Q was a bore! But you’re so placid now – this gentle waving,” he said, indicating Neara’s hand. “You know who I miss – your Weaver predecessor. How her eyes would become blue ice and she would fling us to the opposite end of the universe. That was a rush. Why don’t you do that anymore?”

With that, Q’s image started fading in stripes.

“Ah, I see you’ve found me already. But I’ll be back. I know where you are now...” Q’s lilting voice trailed off as he faded away.

Neara cursed and shook her hand, trying to shake off the bad energy. Data came over to her, a look of curiosity and wonder on his face. He had never seen nor known Neara could do this.

“Are you alright?” he questioned.

Neara was bemused, “How did he find me?”

“I do not think he was here for you. He has been here before. He has taken a special interest in Captain Picard,” Data explained.

“He has been here before?” she asked worriedly.

“Yes,” Data answered, and Neara walked immediately to the center of the bridge facing Captain Picard in his chair.

Picard was speaking to her, but she did not hear. Neara dropped to her knees, then sat back on her ankles and took three quick breaths. She closed her eyes, took one large breath in, drew her hands together in a prayer position and lifted them together above her head. She opened her eyes, looking up at her hands, and parted them, stretching her arms to the sides, making a large circle, lowering her head until she was looking down at her hands, palms on the floor in front of her. When she looked forward, Picard saw her eyes had changed to blue ice. Although he spoke to her, she did not seem aware of his presence.

Neara repeated the circles, and with each one, the ship creaked. When she placed her palms on the floor, a large boom sounded and the ship shook. The instruments were going crazy, reports of damage from all over the ship. Data returned to his station to keep watch.

“Neara,” Picard instructed, “you need to stop this.” She continued.

He leaned forward in his chair, “Neara, please…” he appealed.

When that didn’t work, he commanded, “Na Soonga, stop this now!” Neara still did not respond or discontinue.

Worf went over to grab her, but a protective bubble shocked him. He put his phaser on stun and fired, but it did not penetrate the bubble.

Data looked over his shoulder, worried. “Please Neara, will you stop?” he asked.

“Should I try a higher setting Captain?” Worf questioned.

“No. There has to be another way. What’s she doing Data?” Picard asked.

“I do not know. I have never seen her do this before. I did not know she had this ability,” he marveled.

The red alert sounded.

“Captain,” La Forge hailed, “there’s been a warp core breach.”

“Neara you _must_ stop this _now!”_ Picard yelled.

Data turned and reached for her. His hand went easily through the bubble. He gently touched Neara’s shoulder and said, “Neara, you must stop. We have a warp core breach. If you do not stop, we will all die.”

Neara  interrupted  her circles, placed her left hand in front of her, palm facing her. She used her right hand to draw a line with her fingers across the palm of  her  other hand. Then she continued on with her circles. Data removed his hand.

The red alert ceased. “The breach somehow repaired itself Captain,” La Forge informed in bafflement.

Neara continued her circles to a final boom, and then bent down and let out a long breath above her hands. When she did this, the air seemed to shimmer  with a sensation like a vacuum popping.  She sat up and slid off her ankles, sitting one side on the floor, her arms propping up her torso like an easel.

She was breathing heavily. Data came and crouched down beside her.

“Do you need Dr Crusher?” he asked.

“No ka’lee, I am fine. I am only tired. I will be OK,” Neara assured.

“What was that? What did you just do?” Picard questioned sharply.

“I have created a temporary shield against the Q,” she answered breathlessly. “They are dangerous,” she paused, looked at Data and spoke to him in Ahmrian.

He responded, “Mercurial.”

She looked back to Picard, “They are mercurial. Very dangerous for you. You must go to Ahmria so we can place a permanent barrier around your ship. That way, they will not be able to see or find you.”

“Ensign, lay in a course for Ahmria. Na Soonga, I would like to see you and the senior staff in the conference room where you can explain to us how this protection works, what your people will be doing, and what exactly we just witnessed,” Picard commanded.

“Perhaps she should go and rest Captain,” Data suggested.

“No, he is right La’Ma – you deserve an explanation,” Neara concurred and attempted to get up. Data helped her stand.

The staff made their way to the conference room, Neara and Data lagging behind, Neara walking slowly.

She sat down heavily and looked around the table at Data’s family – Jean-Luc, Will, Deanna, Beverly, Worf, and Geordi. It was time to let Data know – it was time to let them all know.

“What I am about to tell you is only for the people around this table. You are Data’s family, and I know he trusts you and would give his life for you, so I will put the same trust in you. I have not even spoken of this with Data,” she looked at him, “it was for your own protection ka’lee,” she looked back at the group, “for all of your protection.

“Perhaps I should start at the beginning,” Neara paused and took a deep breath. “The Ahmriana are an ancient people. We remember the first beings – the Doud, the Q, the El-Aurians – we have been there through them all. We remember when humans were created.” The crew looked at each other. “Yes, you were created by an alien species who spliced their DNA with the indigenous beings on the planet. That is why you have a gap in your evolutionary timeline and cannot find physical evidence of your development to this stage. The aliens used you as slaves to mine gold and abandoned you when you were no longer needed. They were feudal and killed themselves off in a great war with another species. That is most likely why you feel the aggressive tendencies they engendered in you. That is also why you have your ‘junk’ DNA. They turned off their higher abilities, deactivated that DNA, so that you would not be as capable – so they could more easily control you.

“But that is just some of your history. As for my history, on Ahmria, I am called a Weaver. In the aeons we have existed, there have only been twenty-six Weavers. I am the twenty-sixth. As you are aware, Ahmriana can manipulate the universal harmonic. You especially, Beverly, are aware of their ability to heal and protect. You are also aware of their vocal range and that they can sing many, but not all, notes at once. This is why, for larger projects, many Ahmriana must come together to weave a specific harmonic. As you know, my range far exceeds theirs and I can sing all of the notes at once, so I can weave this same harmonic on my own. I am also able to think of the notes, without singing them, and vibrate them to weave a harmonic. The other Ahmriana can do this, but it requires many of them thinking on one note, but this allows them to manipulate the harmonic outside of their vocal range. Although it is much easier, and more powerful, if we are able to sing the harmonic. The hand gestures we use help to direct it, like putting it on a loom.

“As you also know, the Ahmriana credo is to improve the universal harmonic. When a Weaver is born, Ahmriana believe there is a reason for it. In that time, there will be a situation or circumstance in the universe that will need assistance only a Weaver can give.

“So I searched the universe with my psi wave for this, and I found the El-Aurians. As you are aware, their planet had been attacked by the Borg, and thousands of their people assimilated on a single Borg vessel. This was the vessel that Hugh returned to and due to his disruptive influence, when Starfleet came across them, it was easy to capture the ship and remove the artificial parts from the biological beings.

“But this had an unintended consequence. The El-Aurians had been part of the Borg collective for many years. When they were returned to their home planet, they suffered greatly because they were no longer connected. They could no longer feel or hear each other like they used to. They had a deep depression, a gut-wrenching sadness that incapacitated them. They barely moved or ate, and the Federation could not comprehend, could not fathom, the depths of their sorrow. They were at a loss with what to do for them. That is when I contacted the Federation and went to help the El-Aurians.

“At first, I tried to remove the debilitating sadness from each, individually, but somehow it would return. There was still a connection between them, a vibration, and the others would hit that note. And like a tuning fork, the ones I healed would return to their previous state – their previous vibration.

“So I went to each individual, one at a time, and found the strings, the threads, of that vibration. I would connect the strings from them to me, then go to the next person and do the same thing. It took me eighteen months to reach every person on the planet. I had all the strings anchored to me, and I needed to yank them out of the El-Aurians at the same time. So I took all the strings, and gave them a mighty pull… and I screamed. I screamed in agony and collapsed.

“I do not remember what happened next, I only know what I have been told by Starfleet personnel and my people. They say I did not stop screaming all the way to Ahmria. My people said it was days before I stopped, even with their healing. I was broken, but at least the El-Aurians were healed.

“In the time following, I found I could hear the Borg. They call me ‘Many Eyes,’ and I know they are looking for me. That is why I had Starfleet seal my records. If anyone knew who later became assimilated, then the Borg would know who I was. If they could assimilate an Ahmriana, and an Ahmriana Weaver no less, then they would have power beyond their imagining. I obviously could not let this happen and would have to destroy them. But I do not wish to kill. It is very painful, very hurtful. I have killed before. It is against the Ahmriana credo, but I did so when I was young. This is not an excuse, just a statement of fact.

“Some beings do not like that Ahmriana can kill them and would wish to destroy us. Some find me, in particular, very threatening, because I can kill them on my own. Some of the Q feel this way. When I was nineteen, there was a Q that kept coming to the planet. He kept testing our defenses. I would push him across the universe, and he would return. I would wipe away his harmonic, and he would return. I would try to obscure our planet, and he would find us. I would try to blind his senses, and yet, he would clear them and come and find us. He was relentless. He kept testing and testing and testing, picking and picking and picking at our defenses. I knew he would eventually get through, and he would kill us.

“So I destroyed him instead. In my intense anger, I saw all the threads of his being. I pulled them apart with my mind and obliterated them, into what I believe you call antimatter. Once this is done, the being is no more. They cannot be returned.

“The Q do not have this ability, because they are not physically present in the Now. Only matter can create antimatter. All of us are beings made of matter inhabited by dimensional energy. Our dimensional energy, or spirit, is woven into our physical form. Our DNA acts as an antenna for our spirit. In your case La’Ma, your neural net is acting as this antenna. The Q are pure dimensional energy who span across the Before and After. Any physical form they take is like clothing for them, there is no antenna. The Q are only able to move matter and energy about in the Now, like your shell game. If they destroy a being in the Now, that being’s dimensional energy is transferred out of their physical form. The energy they are converted to, the energy that was powering their matter, moves into the After dimension. The Ahmriana call this energy essence a dimensional energy being or light being.

“When I destroyed that Q, I destroyed a dimensional energy being. I could not just kill a physical form and let the energy move to the other dimension. The only way to kill a dimensional energy being in the Now is to make it antimatter. So that Q was obliterated – it pains me to this day. The only good to come of it is now the Q leaves us alone. It is an uneasy truce.

“But the pain is not the only reason I do not wish to do these things. I must be very careful about what I change in the universe. It is truly a tapestry. If you pull on one thread, there is no knowing what will unravel. So I choose where I help very carefully. The El-Aurian suffering had no purpose, so I knew I could safely change this.

“This is another reason I did not tell you of my abilities earlier. Some might be tempted to ask me to change things, to intervene where I should not. Some might ask me to do things I cannot do, like revive the dead, and become irate when I say I cannot, thinking I am withholding. Or they might want me to takes sides in a war and kill off the other side. All things I cannot, should not, or would not do.

“As you may have guessed, the Federation does not know of my full abilities. They believe I have an advanced psi mental healing ability, and that is all. I would like to keep it this way.” Neara looked pointedly around the table, and the group nodded.

“Of course Neara,” Picard spoke for everyone, “you have our word.”

“What was it that brought you here?” Data asked.

“Well, you of course ka’lee,” Neara answered with a warm smile. “After healing the El-Aurians, I was on Ahmria for nearly two years being healed. It takes very little energy to destroy, as you know from your observations of universal entropy, but it takes a considerable amount of energy to create or to heal. Towards the end of the two years, I cannot explain, I was drawn to find you. I just knew I had to find you. I do not know why the need was so strong, but I heeded it and sent out my psi wave. I finally saw you – a bright white flame with a little red dancing at the bottom. I came to you immediately. It took me less time to get to here than it did to find you on this ship!” Neara laughed.

“That is why you said ‘ _val na ha_ ,’” Data translated for the group, “‘there you are,’ when you first saw me. I thought it was because you were looking down when Geordi introduced me, then looked up to see me.”

Neara laughed again, “I said it because I was relieved I had finally found you.”

Data looked at her in wonder, “On our first date, you said you would give me anything I want.”

“Yes,” Neara confirmed.

“And the next day you told me the harmonic was for feeling. But you did not mean physical feeling, did you? You meant emotion,” Data realized. “Is that correct? Have you been creating emotions in me?”

“Yes. You did say you wanted it,” Neara recounted. Data nodded. “It is very delicate, time-consuming work. I have never done anything like this before. I have to be very careful, very patient,” and she reached up to caress his face. “The emotions might seem small to a biological life, but for you, I know they shake the roots of your being. Such delicate strands have such a profound effect on your spirit. I take every care to make sure I do it correctly.”

“You said it takes a considerable amount of energy to create, but I have not seen you tire while doing this,” Data noted.

“You give me back so much energy, I do not feel the effort,” Neara informed.

She turned to the group, “Before healing the El-Aurians, I would have been strong enough to create a permanent protection for the ship. But since my injury, I cannot raise the vibration to that point. It is like making a tight weave on a tapestry – I no longer have the strength to pull it tight.”

Picard interjected, “So that is what they will be doing on Ahmria? They will tighten the harmonic – the protection?”

“It will actually unravel before we get there,” Neara answered. “It is fading now. They will need to create a new one. After that is done, the Q will no longer bother you.”

“Neara, I know you do not wish to kill, and you need to be mindful of any alteration,” Data started, “but what if a being was pure evil? What if their destruction would improve the universal harmonic?”

“Their destruction will create a vacuum, and we do not know what will fill it,” she answered. “Also, a vibration of destruction can ripple out. It may have adverse effects that may even impact the one doing the destroying.”

“I realize you have put a great deal of trust in us, in me, and I would not wish to exploit our connection. But I would ask, this once, for me, that you get rid of that evil being. I know its destruction will improve the universal harmonic. It has no redeeming qualities. There is nothing worse that could fill the void. I cannot see any adverse effects from its obliteration,” Data reasoned.

Neara knew the being of which Data spoke. It was Armus, who had killed Tasha Yar. In relating her death, Data had spoken of its extreme cruelty and sadism.

“Are you doing this for revenge Data, because it killed someone you cared for?” Neara questioned.

“It is not about that. The universe truly will be better without its existence,” Data maintained.

“Data, although I agree with your assessment, is it really right to ask Neara to do this?” Picard opined.

“For you, and only for you, I will do this,” Neara gave Data her consent. “But I will not be the one to kill it. I will make it so you can use my abilities and kill it yourself.” Data nodded.

The group looked on, uncertain. Neara planted her elbow on the table with her arm up, hand outstretched. She placed her other hand on top of Data’s head. “Just think of it, and it will come. Once it is here, you must think of its obliteration.”

Data thought of the horrible black creature, and it started to materialize above the table in front of them. When its writhing, inky black mass was fully formed, it spoke. “I am free!” it rejoiced, but its joy quickly turned to alarm. “What’s happening… Stop that.. Stop it! STOP IT! NO! NOOOOO! AAAAWWWWRRRRGGGHHHH,” it wailed in agony as it was slowly torn apart, its own malevolent energy being used against it in its destruction. In directing Neara’s abilities, Data realized she was able to find the unique vibration of a being and rapidly oscillate its specific tones until it was destroyed. It reminded Data of demonstrations where people could break a glass singing a particular note.

The creature’s death throes were horrifying, and Deanna and Geordi covered their ears. Its shriek trailed away as the creature slowly dissipated. Afterwards, Neara looked somber and Data looked resolute.

The room was silent in the aftermath, everyone in their own thoughts. Then Picard spoke gravely, “I think we’ve taken in a lot today. Neara, I want to thank you for sharing with us, and I can vouch for everyone around this table – we will keep your confidence. Data, I imagine you and Neara have a lot to talk about, so you’re dismissed for the day. I will see you back on duty tomorrow.” With a nod to the others, Picard and the rest filed out of the room leaving Data and Neara alone.

Neara and Data went back to their quarters. Neara wanted to get into bed, so they undressed, got in, and held each other.

“Do you feel better now that the being is gone?” she questioned Data.

“Yes, I do,” Data responded without hesitation.

“Would you want to destroy any being who killed me?” she wondered.

“I do not know. Most likely, if it were done intentionally,” he reckoned.

“I am afraid for the depth of my feeling, because I would tilt the universe on its axis if it would save you from death,” Neara pronounced.

Data gently stroked Neara’s hair, “And would you kill any being who took my life?”

“If it were done with intent, I am afraid I would. Does this make me a bad Ahmriana?” she asked sincerely.

“I think we are simply beings with deep feelings for one another who do not wish to live without the other,” Data stated insightfully.

“Now that you know the whole of me, there is one last thing I need to tell you. I did not tell you before, because I could not explain to you where my knowledge came from. And also, I am afraid to tell you,” Neara looked at him apprehensively. “I am afraid you might leave me.”

“I cannot imagine what you could tell me that would incite me to leave. Please Neara, do not be afraid. I love you,” Data reassured.

Neara’s eyes began to well up, “With my abilities, I sometimes know things. I do not know how I know this, but I know it will happen.” She took a steadying breath, “When I went to look for you, I knew I could either have a long, happy life on Ahmria, or a short, spectacular life with you. I felt so drawn to you, I knew I had to choose the shorter life.”

“Why would this make you fear I would leave you?” Data asked, bemused.

“Because it is not only my life that will be shortened,” Neara explained. “By being with you, I will shorten your life as well.” Neara started crying and touched Data’s face. “I am sorry, it was selfish. I should have told you before now. If you ask me to leave, I am certain your life will continue on without aftereffect. You can have as long a life as your body will allow.”

Data placed his hand over hers, “I do not wish you to leave. I do not wish to carry on indefinitely. I have told you, I do not wish to carry on without you.” He removed her hand from his face and held both her hands in his. “To know that I will die is comforting – to be mortal. To have a beginning and an end. I want to live this life with you, and be with you in the After you have described. I will take whatever time I have here with you, and I am grateful for it. I am grateful you knowingly chose a shorter life to be with me. I will do everything in my power to ensure you do not regret that choice.”

Data wiped the tears from Neara’s cheeks, pulled her close, and kissed her tenderly. As their lips separated, a radiant smile broke across Neara’s face, and she wrapped herself around him and kissed him ardently. As they made love through the night, she felt a profound relief and joy that she had made the right decision. Data had accepted the whole of her – the whole of what that meant. He was remarkable.


	27. Ahmria

Neara bounded onto the bridge with glee before their planned afternoon arrival to Ahmria. She had informed her people of the protection the ship needed and that because of this, Data’s family now knew of her abilities. Picard had instructed the two additional crew members on the bridge during Neara’s weaving that the occurrence was classified and they must not speak of it to anyone else. So far, Neara had not noticed any difference in the crew’s behavior towards her.

She came and stood beside Data, her hand on his chair, looking at the screen. She could feel her home drawing near. Then it appeared and the ship slowed as it approached.

“Do not go into the protective sphere, that shimmering surface you see around the planet,” Neara instructed. “You must wait for them to contact you.”

Picard nodded his understanding, then an image started to materialize on the screen. To Picard’s surprise, it was Leyna. Neara and Leyna started speaking in rapid, joyful Ahmrian, Data joining in.

“Hello Jean-Luc, it is good to see you,” Leyna greeted. “Will, Deanna, Worf,” she smiled cordially, “Neara told me of your pregnancy Deanna. Congratulations. When are you due?”

“I have four months to go,” Deanna informed.

“And Neara says Betazoids are pregnant for eleven months, so it must have happened at the wedding. How wonderful! That time certainly brought much love to the universal harmonic,” Leyna said ebulliently.

Picard thought the reunion should wait until they introduced themselves to the necessary Ahmriana. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Leyna, is there a representative or leader we need to speak to? Someone who has the authority to permit us to enter your planet’s protective sphere?”

Neara turned to Picard, her hand outstretched to the image of her mother, “Tahtee is that person.”

“We do not have leaders, as such,” Leyna explained, “but I do speak for the Ahmriana.”

“She is our leader,” Neara assured.

“I see,” Picard admired. The Ahmriana were certainly modest. Neara had kept her astounding abilities to herself, and now here was Leyna, leader of their people. “May we continue catching up on your planet?”

“Of course, Jean-Luc,” Leyna agreed. “Please be aware that once your ship is within our protective sphere, your weapons will not work. But they will not be necessary as you will be under our protection.

“We would like to invite all your crew to Ahmria. Their pets are also invited. Any living thing left on the ship that needs care will be cared for. Do not worry, your ship does not need to be staffed – it will be safe. It will be placed in the water of Lake Turahna for two days. We will not flood your ship, only the outside needs covered. On the third day, we will create the protection.

“If you will please let your people know, we will bring them to the planet in one hour. Will that be enough time?”

“Yes, that should be sufficient. Thank you Leyna. We will see you in one hour,” Picard accepted.

Neara gave her mother the Ahmrian wave as her image faded out.

Picard hailed the crew and informed them to pack themselves and their pets for their unplanned shore leave in an hour. As he finished, the shimmering surface covering the planet passed through, then enveloped the ship.

Neara took Data’s hand, “Let us get Spot.” He rose from his seat and they disappeared. Picard and Riker looked at each other. Was this one of Neara’s abilities? They got up and went to pack for their time on Ahmria.

Picard had packed and went to the bridge with his bag to wait. Suddenly, he heard Leyna’s voice over the intercom system, “Please, everyone stand.” Picard stood, and a moment later he was in a grassy clearing, his bag beside him, with the rest of his crew and their bags and pets. He breathed the air and felt the energy flowing up through the grass – it was marvelous.

Leyna walked up to him, “Hello Jean-Luc. Welcome to Ahmria.” Ahmriana were flying up to the crew, greeting them. Yurt structures had been erected surrounding the clearing and down the hill in front of the Ahta household. The Ahmriana were directing the crew to them.

Deanna and Will walked over, and Leyna addressed all three. “I would be honored if you would stay in the Ahta home during your visit. Jean-Luc, you will stay with me, unless you would prefer your own room.”

“No, that will be fine,” he consented, and Riker grinned. Three Ahmriana brought Geordi, Worf, and Crusher over.

“Good,” Leyna thanked the Ahmriana, then addressed the newcomers. “As Data’s family, would you be guests in the Ahta home please?” The three made noises of acceptance. “Very good. I will show you to your rooms. You will need to share though. Beverly, you will be staying with Seyta. Worf and Geordi, you will be staying together. Unless you would prefer a different arrangement or to stay elsewhere with your own room?” The three agreed it would be fine, and they made their way across the clearing to the Ahta home.

During the day, Neara and her family showed them the planet. They even got to see the room where Lore was healing. Data was assured it was going very well – there was already significant improvement in Lore’s harmonic.

Other Ahmriana had shown the crew around, communicating via small, floating boxes that translated their speech, based on the Enterprise’s universal translator. Leyna was concerned they might not have gotten it right, but the translators seemed to be doing their job.

That evening, they had a communal meal. Long tables with benches were set up across the clearing, Ahmriana sitting alongside the crew. As at Data and Neara’s wedding, food was floated out, followed by a mad flurry of dishes and food landing on plates with boisterous Ahmriana whooping and hollering in song. Also as at Neara and Data’s wedding, the crew looked somewhat startled by the happening, which ended with the traditional Ahmrian three loud bangs on the table. But unlike the wedding, the crew were sampling Ahmrian food, rather than their favorite dishes. It was scrumptious, and Picard thought to himself it was most likely the best food he’d ever tasted.

The meal ended, and children and pets played around the tables as the adults chatted affably. Teenagers from the Enterprise were showing Ahmriana teenagers their electronic games. Ahmriana circulated, ensuring the guests had everything they wanted. After a time, everybody was asked to stand up and the tables and benches were popped away. The group was then encouraged to lay on the grass and take in the healing energy of the planet. Everyone was happy, peaceful, and content – it was the best shore leave they had ever experienced.

Jossa floated above the crowd. “It is traditional that we dance after a meal,” he announced. “We have chosen human music for your pleasure.” Ahmriana asked crew members to dance, and the older teenagers floated the younger teenagers in a large group to one side of the clearing where they all danced together. There were older Ahmriana who preferred dancing to the Vyta and were not inspired by the human music, so they stayed on the ground and kept the guests company. The Ahtas and Data’s family were all lying beside each other in front of their home, watching the sky above the clearing fill with dancing beings. Even Spot lay in the grass watching. The evening turned to night and the Ahmriana’s eyes glowed.

Data realized people were surprised by this phenomenon. He heard Worf tell Seyta, “In the past, my people would have thought you were demons.”

“Are you saying you find me scary?” she asked in good humor.

“Of course not!” Worf exclaimed, offended. “I am a warrior, I do not feel fear. And besides, we no longer believe in demons.”

“You are not even scared of Neara?” Seyta questioned.

“Why would I be scared of Neara?” Worf wondered.

“I am scared of Neara,” Yara piped in.

Neara had been lying against Data’s side, kissing him, and lifted her head to yell, “Oh, shut up Yara! Or I shall vibrate your toes off.”

“See, very scary,” Yara stated in joking earnest, and the group laughed.

Yara and his ka’sha asked Beverly to dance. Data noticed they seemed to be taken with her. He wondered if it was the novelty of her red hair, seeing as no Ahmriana had that hair color.

During the dance, they surrounded her and fawned over her. She was an excellent dancer, very strong and beautiful, and easily transitioned her movement from the dance floor to flight just as she had done at the wedding.

When their song ended, the others went to lie in the grass and Yara continued, grabbing up partners and twirling them around to their surprise and joy. He barely stopped the entire time.

He went to Neara and Data and pulled them up to Beyonce’s song “Baby Boy.” One would hold Data from behind and fly him backwards while the other would fly in front, rubbing his chest, then they would change places. Leyna and Picard were lying in the grass, looking up at the scene.

“I think my children are obsessed with that android,” Leyna said with a smile.

“It certainly seems that way,” Picard chuckled.

They flew down and Yara grabbed his mother up for the next song. It was Foreigner’s “Blue Morning.”

“Tahtee really likes this band,” Neara commented.

The next song was “Tramontane” by the same band. Yara floated down to join his family and Leyna danced to the song, lighting up the sky with Ahmrian blue lightning as she had done at the wedding. The crew were overjoyed – it was like watching a fireworks display. Then Leyna floated the entire gathering a few meters off the ground and turned them slowly in a counterclockwise circle around the field and placed them back down at their starting point. They were excited and awed and a little scared over the experience.

Many more songs played and the Ahmriana danced with the crew. At one point, Yara, Erda, and Pata were up dancing to Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love,” and they floated just the children up, and danced and bounced them like puppets on strings. The children laughed with glee, and the parents beamed at their joy.

The music stopped and the sky cleared of people and Leyna flew up to address the crowd. “It is time for the children to go to sleep,” she announced. The children floated up on their backs, their eyes closed, and they started floating towards their respective housing. “Only the ones under sixteen must go. It is adult time now. The children will be safe on their own. They will sleep for twelve hours then awaken. Please enjoy yourselves in any way you like.”

As Keiko and Miles watched Molly float away, O’Brien said, “I wish we could do that,” and Keiko laughed and nodded her agreement.

The music became more sensual and suggestive, as did the dancing. Yara was definitely flirting with Beverly, bewitching her with his blue eyes and provocative movements as they flew. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. Although she was turned on, she was also concerned about his two partners. She saw them in the clearing, talking with their respective parents. What did they think of it? They all seemed to have all been flirting with her, and did not seem the least bit concerned now, so she decided she would just enjoy the attention.

As the evening wore on, bunches of people were in the grass, fondling and kissing each other. Some of the Ahmriana were even beginning to have sex and offering the crew to join in. Many others had already gone to bed.

Seyta went in and Beverly joined her, resisting the imploring looks of Yara and his ka’sha. She didn’t want to wake Seyta coming in later – she thought that would be inconsiderate. Leyna and Picard had retired to her room, and Neara and Data said goodnight and followed suit.

The couple got undressed and climbed into bed when Neara said to Data, “I still am feeling an incredible relief that you know about my Weaver abilities.”

“I am glad you no longer have the burden of that secret,” Data acknowledged.

“I feel such joy that you know me,” she said and started kissing him.

Data pulled back, “May I ask you… would you take my will tonight?”

Neara grinned mischievously. “I shall go get the ties,” she said excitedly and made to get up when Data stopped her.

He hesitated, “Would you use your Weaver abilities to hold me down please?”

“Oh, you _really_ want me to take your will. Very kinky. It is not something I have done before,” Neara considered. “Alright, I will do – just use our special word if you want me to stop.” Data nodded his agreement.

Neara lay on top of him, looking beyond him, and drew in three long breaths. With each breath, the room became more electrified until it practically crackled with energy. On the final breath, Data watched her eyes transform into blue ice.

She looked at him, “I have you now.” Her speech was a many-layered harmonic, with very high to very low tones that rattled down into the core of him. He tried moving. His arms and legs were pinned which left his torso free to struggle. Neara did enjoy feeling him struggle.

In the adjoining room, Leyna said to Picard, “Data is naughty, corrupting my child – making her use her abilities to take his will. I did not know he was so depraved,” she said laughingly. “It looks like we will be along for this experience.”

“Along for the ride?” Picard clarified.

“Is that what you say? Then yes, along for the ride,” Leyna confirmed.

“What’s happening?” Will asked Deanna. They were in the adjoining room on the opposite wall.

“I’m not sure. Neara’s obviously doing something, but it feels very enjoyable,” she noted, and he agreed.

Data was struggling. “There is no use struggling. You are mine android,” Neara asserted, sniffing up his neck.

She kissed his neck, and Data could feel the energy buzzing into him. “I will have what I want,” she declared, then moved to his other side and kissed his neck there. “I will take you any time I please.”

She was reaching down, and Data got an erection. She laughed, “I was going to make you do that.”

“Oh,” Data exclaimed in sudden realization. Of course she could do that.

“That is fine. I will continue,” and she took a breath and got back into character.

She said between kisses, “You cannot resist me… You have no power against me… I will have you in any way I please.” She grabbed fistfuls of his hair and kissed him again, a near explosive buzz echoing through his brain. She released his hair and her hands brushed down his face, his neck, his chest.

“I can take your will,” she kissed his chest. “I can take your body,” she kissed his neck. She moved her lips over his, “I can even take your very life.” With that, she pulled his mouth open slightly and breathed in deeply. As she pulled the breath from him, he felt himself fading. The life energy was being sucked from his body. At first, he felt a sense of panic. Then it felt dreamlike – a pillowy softness and floating feeling, carrying him away.

Deanna and Will looked at each other in wide-eyed astonishment. They felt a sudden potent rush of energy flow into them. It was remarkable.

Leyna and Picard felt the same thing. “Great universe, they are naughty,” she murmured.

Neara breathed the life back into him and Data felt a wild surge of desire. He wanted to have her take his will so he could experience her power. What she had done was very different than the effort used to vibrate Armus apart. She had told him he was a dimensional energy being in a physical form. Without hard evidence, he had not reached the same conclusion. But now.. now he was convinced. She was able to pull only his life force out of him – untether him from his body. His power supply was still active, everything was functioning properly and yet, he experienced himself dying. He had no idea she could do this – that she could so effortlessly take his life, any life. But yet she was so good and kind when she could have anything she wanted by threat of force. She was amazing. She was his extraordinary wife.

Data stared at Neara with frenzied eyes. She released him and they fucked with feral abandon. The other two couples did the same, unconsciously mimicking Neara and Data’s movements.

When they came, it shook their bodies, vibrated the air, and went deep into the ground creating a low, mighty rumble. It was incredible.

Neara’s eyes returned to normal and she spooned up against Data, wrapped his arms around her and sighed contentedly. “I love you beyond reason La’Ma. With a passion from the core of my being,” she said with deep emotion.

“I do not believe I can find the words to express this swell of emotion in me,” Data admitted.

“I believe you just told me everything I need to know,” Neara said and, placing a hand on his face, turned back to kiss him. Then she snuggled into him and went to sleep.


	28. Day Two

It was the second day of their time on Ahmria. Picard had decided the crew would receive a week’s shore leave on the planet, giving them plenty of time to relax and enjoy themselves. He secretly wanted the extra time for himself to relish more of Leyna’s company.

They had gotten up and showered, then went to the kitchen. Leyna started preparing breakfast, cutting up fruits with Picard’s help. She was cooking some into a sauce and also making crepes. Picard’s stomach rumbled.

Everyone staying in the home was filtering in and crowded around the island where they were prepping and cooking, chatting happily. Neara’s family were eating fruits as fast as Picard could cut them. Finally, Leyna let out a burst of seven Ahmrian words, all on the same note, and the family stopped and giggled.

Leyna floated out some plates and dished up the food. Everyone got a crepe filled with cooked fruits with sauce trickled over it, folded over, and what looked like a dollop of whipped cream on top with raw fruit on the side. Neara floated a fruit up and flung at Yara’s face. He stopped it and it dropped on his plate. He did the same to her, and then there was a mad back-and-forth between them with fruit flying and dropping repeatedly.

Leyna let out another burst of five Ahmrian words, and Yara flew around the island and grabbed Neara from behind, flying her backwards through the force field window to the outside, both yelling at each other and laughing raucously as they went.

Leyna shook her head as she continued dishing up. “These are grown beings. It is difficult to believe, but they are grown. I do not know what I have done wrong,” she playfully lamented.

“Perhaps they needed more parents. I have four and I turned out perfectly,” Erda stated with mock pride.

“But I only have one and I am perfect too,” Seyta soberly observed.

“Debatable,” Pata said under his breath, and Seyta gave him a look of shocked indignation.

“That is enough, let us go eat,” Leyna instructed, and everyone picked up their plate and went to the table. Neara and Yara flew in, still laughing, to join them.

At midday, the Ahmriana performed the daily Riaka. The crew paused in wonder from their activities, taking in the incredible sound and feeling vibrating through their bodies, the ground rumbling beneath them. It didn’t last long, but the experience was unforgettable.

Afterwards, the crew were shown aspects of Ahmria related to their areas of interest or expertise. Jossa showed Worf the planet’s defensive and offensive capabilities. Crusher went with the Prime Healer to further investigate their vibrational healing. Pata took Deanna to Lore’s healing chamber to demonstrate and discuss emotional healing. Geordi accompanied Seyta to understand how the Ahmriana constructed the translation boxes. And Riker went with Erda to observe the food supply and growth, as Erda’s family were analogous to Earth farmers. Picard stayed with Leyna to discuss the Federation’s organizational structure as opposed to the Ahmriana way of handling things.

Neara and Data made love then went to Lake Anansa. They were lying on the shore naked, taking in the hazy sunlight and listening to the families playing in the water. Pata, Erda, and Yara popped in with Deanna and Will in tow. The two looked a little surprised to see the naked forms of their friends, but quickly composed themselves. The Ahta home did have a communal bathing area, and although they hadn’t been interrupted during their shower, they were bound to see Neara and her family naked eventually. They had already seen Data naked at their wedding, but that was a ritual event. The Ahmriana seemed much freer with clothing, or lack thereof.

Erda, Pata, and Yara took off their clothes and ran into the lake, whooping and hollering. Deanna and Will noticed all the families were naked.

“Come join us,” Neara offered. “The sun feels lovely.”

“Thank you,” Deanna accepted and they sat down.

“You should swim today. The water is very good for the baby,” Neara commented.

“Perhaps I will,” Deanna considered. She took off her shoes and felt the grass. Just as in the Ahta’s clearing, it was fantastic. Will did the same and put his arm around her waist.

“Data, how fast can you swim?” Yara yelled over.

Data got up and walked over. “I have not timed myself. Would you like to time me now?” he asked. Neara sat up to watch.

“No. I just want to see if I throw this ball very fast to the opposite end of the lake, if you can catch it,” Yara enthused.

“I will try,” Data accepted the challenge.

“You will do!” Erda exclaimed, and the group sang their Ahmrian chant that ended in _zaza_ as Data assumed a starting position.

“Alright GO!” Pata commanded and Yara threw the ball, flying it quickly towards the end of the lake, Data rapidly swimming after it.

He swam at a blurring pace, coming level with the ball, then overtaking it. Once he was sufficiently ahead, he sprang out of the water and caught  it .  Everyone cheered enthusiastically, and he swam back  leisurely .

Neara walked down and joined her family as they played in the lake. Will and Deanna undressed and walked into the water. It felt more amazing than the grass. Deanna was glad Neara had encouraged her to swim.

“Since you can walk on the bottom of the lake, you should go and tickle the children’s toes,” Neara suggested to Data. Since discovering Neara’s Weaver abilities, Neara had informed Data she wished to seal him from harm. She would seal his body so only he could allow access, which included his off switch. For this, he was very grateful and readily accepted her offer. This meant now he could walk underwater without concern over his servos being flooded. Data walked on the bottom of the lake, snatching at paddling toes. The group watched as the children squealed and laughed with delight, their parents laughing along with them.

It was a lovely time, and Riker considered that being naked like this was very freeing.  As at his wedding, t here was nothing sexual about it at all – they simply were. “I’ve decided I prefer swimming naked,” he told the group.

“ I thought crew only wore  a bathing suit on the ship while swimming in case of emergency, in case  they had to leave suddenly. Do people always wear one?” Neara questioned.

“Yes, it is the custom for humans to wear a bathing suit for swimming,” Data responded.

“That is ridiculous. Why do they do this?” Neara wondered.

“ We still have a ways to go before we are as forward-thinking as your people Neara,” Will replied. “Until then, I’ll just have to come to Ahmria for that pleasure.”  The group made noises of understanding, and Deanna smiled at him and patted his face.  With a sigh, s he continued to blissfully enjoy the water.

In the evening, they had another communal meal followed by dancing. Again, the children were sent off to bed and the adults had their own time. Eventually, people made their way to their respective rooms. Data and Neara decided to do so as well when Yara came bounding up, followed by Erda and Pata.

“We would like to spend time alone with you. Would you like to join us in our room?” he offered. They held the couple’s hands and walked to their room as the music came to an end.

When they got inside, Data was surprised – the throuple started kissing them. Neara smiled with sultry delight.

“We would like to make love to you. Would this be acceptable to you both?” Yara asked.

Neara looked at Data, “I would like to do this, but do not feel obligated. If you do not wish to do so, we will go back to our room. No one will be offended.”

Data had enjoyed himself their times together with Yara. He wondered if it would be more enjoyable with more people.

“Yes, I would like to do this,” he agreed.

Yara, Erda, and Pata started removing the couple’s clothing while kissing their bodies. The group rose off the ground.

While on Ahmria, sometimes Neara and Data would have sex above the bed and other times on the bed. Data asked what motivated her decision, and she said whether she wanted to feel weight or be weightless. She sometimes wanted to feel the weight of their bodies pressing against each other, or get the leverage that only gravity could provide. But she found oral sex much easier, and therefore enjoyable, while flying. And the gyroscopic sex could only be done in the air. He wondered if Yara and his ka’sha had a preference for aerial sex. He supposed he would soon find out.

They were kissing and running their hands all over Neara and Data while turning them slowly. Then they rubbed their bodies against them as they turned. They stopped turning, and Yara went down to fellate Data while Neara was floated parallel to the floor, Erda giving her cunnilingus. Pata went first to Data, then to Neara, sucking on their nipples and kissing their lips.

“Would you like to pleasure me Data?” Pata asked. Data nodded and Pata flew up, and he took him in his mouth. After a few minutes, he pulled out abruptly. “I do not want to cum too soon. I am not like Yara – I cannot cum repeatedly. It would take me time to recover, and you are very good at that. I was about to burst.”

“Thank you,” Data smiled. He was pleased he had that affect. Pata smiled back and kissed him. “Yara is very good as well,” Data commented. It was a good thing his mind could concentrate on many tasks at once, because Yara’s technique was seeking to pull his entire focus.

“Oh, you noticed that?” Pata laughed and kissed him again. He floated down and started sucking on Yara’s erection.

As Data watched the happenings, he could see Neara was close to orgasm. He reached over and fondled her breast. She floated over to him, Erda’s mouth still firmly attached, and started kissing him deeply, her hand running through his hair. Their lips parted, and Neara came with an aching cry of _great universe_. Data came at the same time, the powerful energy flowing through him.

They all floated down to the bed. It was large – large enough to accommodate the five of them. They were a kissing, writhing mass.

Data was lying on his back when Neara brought Erda over and encouraged her to straddle him. She helped guide Data’s erection into her, everyone excitedly watching. Erda put her hands on Data’s chest and started riding him. He put his hands on her thighs. She bent down and kissed him, then went back to her upright position. Pata and Yara went to either side, each sucking on a nipple, Yara fingering her clitoris.

Neara was lying beside Data, her lips at his ear, whispering, “Does she feel good Data? Does it feel good to be inside her, pushing into her?”

“Yes,” he responded breathlessly.

“Look at how pretty you are together – she so dark and you so light. It is beautiful,” Neara noted, entranced. Data watched their two bodies connecting. It was aesthetically very attractive – and Erda felt wonderful, so warm and wet.

She was moving fast now, bouncing up and down on him, Yara fingering her clitoris rapidly. She apparently was not as sensitive as Neara, who would not like being fingered firmly.

“Fuck her hard ka’lee. That is what she wants. Penetrate her deeply. Make her cry out in ecstasy as you feel her cum all over you,” Neara commanded. Data pumped his hips thrusting into her, Neara’s hand in his hair, kissing his neck, face, and lips between watching in anticipation.

Erda let out a wail of release, and Data could feel her pulsing around him, slick with pleasure. With a satisfied laugh, she bent down and kissed him deeply, then kissed Neara deeply. Her ka’sha helped her down, and Yara pulled her up against him and they kissed passionately.

Pata lay between Data and Neara. He beckoned Data to turn on his side and kissed him, then Neara. He went between them a few times, then concentrated on Neara.

Data noted each of them had their own style of lovemaking. Yara was passionate and sensual. Erda was playful and energetic. And Pata was slow and tender.

Pata was delicately caressing Neara, kissing her body slowly and gently. Data could see it was making Neara focus on each sensation – her nipples were puckered, her eyes closed blocking out visual distraction.

Pata rolled her onto her back, moving between her legs. She opened her eyes and looked at him. They kissed lovingly, and Pata pushed into her.

Neara let out a sigh, and Data had a feeling. When he had made love with Neara and Yara, he now realized he was the center of attention. Earlier, when the group was concentrating on Neara and Data, it was Erda who had oral sex with Neara. This was the first time he had seen a male intimately involved with Neara. And it was the first time he had seen anyone have intercourse with Neara – the first time he had heard her sigh like that without his penetration, with another’s penetration. It was irrational, but he believed he was feeling jealous. It was as if by virtue of being male there was a direct correlation between them. Why did she need another male? Was there something he was not giving her? Was it because Pata could get her pregnant?

Of course, she had told Data Ahmriana could control their egg or sperm release. They could even destroy them using vibration, so there were no unwanted pregnancies in their culture. She had told him her body so wanted to become pregnant with him that she released multiple eggs at a time – she could not help herself. Is this what she was missing?

He was being ridiculous. Neara said she wanted a child with him, not someone else. And Neara did not appear to be jealous when he was with Erda. Why should he feel this way? He should help Neara enjoy herself and be happy to see her enjoyment.

As if she could sense his distress, Neara reached out to Data and pulled him close and kissed him. She kept him close, kissing him, while Pata moved inside her. Pata wrapped an arm around Data and pulled him up against their bodies, the three of them snuggling together.

Pata moved Neara’s leg up, got Data to open his legs, and put her leg in between Data’s. Data rested his legs together so they were holding Neara’s leg. Pata was rotating his hips while he thrusted, better stimulating Neara’s clitoris and penetrating deeper with the improved angle.

Pata was kissing down her neck and breast, then started sucking Neara’s nipple. He stopped for a moment and indicated Data should do the same. Data kissed down to her other nipple, and the two were sucking as they could feel Neara build up to her orgasm. She came intensely, and feeling her throbbing on him, Pata quickly followed suit crying out, “Oh Neara… Neara.” The three lay together kissing each other, then Pata rolled off, and Neara and he laughed with satisfaction.

Neara rolled on her side, stroked Data’s face, and kissed him. He could feel Erda pressing up against his back. She looked over his shoulder at Neara, and the two smiled at each other mischievously. They floated up together, then Yara spooned up against him.

Pata moved over and asked, “Data, will you be inside me please?”

“Yes, I would enjoy that,” Data accepted. Pata took some lube and smeared it on Data’s erection. He then spooned up against Data, slowly guiding him in. Somehow this made him feel close to Pata, the vulnerability and trust of being inside him, and any remaining jealousy slipped away.

“May I be inside of you Data? You know how I enjoy that,” Yara requested with smoldering sensuality.

“I would enjoy that as well,” Data eagerly acknowledged, and Yara put on lube and slipped in. The three were moving together, kissing each other’s bodies, and Data could see Neara giving oral sex to Erda above them. The whole scene was very erotic, and Data could definitely see the benefits of multiple partners.

Yara went to climax, then Pata withdrew, thanking and kissing Data deeply. A moist towel flew to his hand and he gently wiped Data off. Pata hovered over him to reach Yara and kiss him deeply. They watched as Erda orgasmed, then the two floated down to the bed, a look of utter greed in Neara’s eyes. Data had not seen her look this way before and another emotion shot through him – an emotion of fear. Fear that she would leave him for a woman, because that was her preference. Again, he had to tell himself he was being foolish and he should enjoy seeing his wife’s pleasure.

A dildo in a harness flew to Neara’s hand, and she strapped it to her thigh. She lay on top of Erda, straddling her leg, inserting the dildo into Erda. She rode her leg until she came in an explosive orgasm. It was as powerful as Data had ever seen. Again, he felt the fear, which he tamped down. But at the same time, he saw her extraordinary beauty, and felt awe. She was his amazing wife.

Neara kissed Erda lovingly and rolled off. She removed the dildo and floated it away, then came over to Data and kissed him passionately.

“I could tell you were having some conflicting emotions tonight ka’lee,” Neara observed and stroked his face. “I will spoon up against you to sleep. If you like, you can be inside of me – feel my love around you holding you as I drift off. You must remember ka’lee, you are my universe, and I love you beyond reason.” She turned and spooned against him. Data felt her warmth and love, and decided to be inside her. He gently pushed in and she sighed, wiggling her hips into him and draping his arm over her. This filled him with love and happiness. Erda spooned up against Neara, Pata spooned behind Data, and Yara spooned behind Pata. Then the Ahmriana quickly fell asleep.


	29. Day Three

Data watched his family sleeping. He thought it was an Ahta trait, moving around a lot during slumber, seeing as both Neara and Yara did so. But he saw the rest doing the same thing and reevaluated. Perhaps it was an Ahmriana trait.

It was morning, and he was lying on his back. Pata had curled up against his chest, and Neara rolled over and curled up against his other side. Data had his arms around them. Neara normally slept for around seven hours, so Data knew she would awaken shortly. After a few minutes, she did.

She looked up and smiled at him lovingly. “Good morning ka’lee,” she greeted and came up to kiss him. She smiled down at Pata and stroked his hair. “I see you have had company.”

“It has been very pleasant,” Data noted. The physical closeness gave him a sensation of being connected and wanted.

“Let us go back to our room now ka’lee,” Neara requested.

She floated up and off the bed, as Data gently moved Pata’s head from his chest onto a pillow. Pata immediately rolled over to Yara and buried his face in Yara’s chest. Yara unconsciously moved his arm and put it around him.

Neara floated Data off the bed, collected their clothes, and flew them silently to their room. They found Spot purring in bed, happily usurping Data’s pillow in his absence. Neara used their bathroom and joined Data in their bed. She lay on top of him, kissing him and stroking his hair.

“What thoughts were you having yesterday that troubled you La’Ma?” she inquired.

“I was concerned your desire to be with another male was because you cannot have a child with me,” he explained. “And you let out a sigh when Pata penetrated you, and I suddenly felt jealous, mistakenly thinking this was an effect only I had on you. Also, given your extremely passionate response to Erda, and because you have told me it is your preference, I became afraid you might wish to leave me for a woman.”

“Data, let me reassure you now,” Neara began. “As a dimensional energy being in a physical form, I like to fully enjoy the pleasures the physical world has to offer. I enjoy the feeling of being in my body, and I enjoy the connection of my body with others. I may have a physical response to being penetrated, and I may have a strong physical reaction to a female’s scent, because it seems to activate a primal area of my brain – but I am simply enjoying my physical self with others I care about who wish to do the same.

“But with you, our connection is so much more. I am bonded to you, and in Ahmriana culture, that is not done lightly. I searched the universe for you, no one else. We have stood outside of time together – that is profound, and I have never experienced that with anybody else. _Soo na_ _h_ _see, La’Ma_ – I mean that with every molecule of my being. And I was going to save this as a surprise for your birthday, but you should know now… We will be able to have a child together.”

Data looked at her in puzzlement, “You can do this?” then excitement, “How can you do this? When can we do this?”

Neara laughed, “No La’Ma, I do not have that ability – at least, not that I trust. We are too physically different – we will need technological help. I would like to clone myself to create an embryo and then implant a quantum strand of your neural net into what will become the brain. That way, she will truly be ours, together. I know it can be done, the Borg do this. And humans have done implants, such as Geordi’s eyes. Now that you know of my abilities, I will use my psi wave to find the person or people who can help us. I would create our child myself, but as I said, I do not trust my abilities. And this is too important to get wrong. You are so different from what I am used to working with, it took me weeks just to create a single emotion in you. Your neural net implantation needs to happen much much faster, so we need a being with great skill. As you realize, I sometimes have foreknowledge – I already know I will find this person, but it may take some time. We will need to be patient as I search.”

“I can be patient, but I do have a feeling of excitement flowing through me,” Data shared. “We cannot let anyone in the Federation know. They are concerned the Borg might have started this way and have forbidden any procedures that are not deemed medically necessary.”

“Would this not be medially necessary for you to reproduce with a biological being?” Neara questioned.

“According to the regulations, an implant of this sort would be forbidden,” Data informed.

“Does this mean your family cannot know?” Neara asked.

“Yes. I believe it would be in their best interests if they were kept in the dark,” Data advised.

“Kept in the dark?” she queried.

“If they did not know,” he clarified.

“Well then, I assume they will think we have just had a clone baby,” Neara opined. “I am glad our Ahmriana family can know.”

“I am too, because I am having a feeling as if I will explode with excitement. I feel the need to share our plans with someone else,” Data related.

“For now, you must make love to me. We must practice making our baby,” Neara instructed.

“But we will not be making her that way,” Data said, confused.

“It is like your emotions – we must not place a block. We are symbolically letting the universe know we are ready to have our child,” Neara explained.

If it was like creating his emotions, then Data would throw himself into the task. He eagerly made love to his wonderful wife.

It was the third day on Ahmria, so after breakfast and the daily Riaka, Leyna announced it was time to create the ship’s protection. She informed Data’s family their presence would be needed on the ship. There would be some damage to the Enterprise as the protection was being constructed, and they would be tasked with repairing or containing it. Neara would be on the ship to repair any major damage, such as the warp core breach, and to communicate with the Ahmriana in case of emergency. Crusher would be there in case any of Data’s family had an adverse reaction to the process.

Leyna advised Picard to do something to protect their hearing, because the sound would be deafening. With Seyta’s help, Geordi created special soundproof head pieces with microphones in them so the crew could communicate.

They popped over to Lake Turahna and watched as the Enterprise slowly rose, water cascading off it. Thousands of Ahmriana appeared and got their first look at the ship. It hovered a few meters above the lake, and then the crew were suddenly on board. It was disorienting, but they quickly recovered and took their stations, Neara standing beside Data’s chair.

Neara was concerned about Data. The frequencies would be such it could harm his neural net.

“I need to do something to protect you,” she told him, and proceeded intone and sweep her arms in circles around him. The protective sphere would keep out potentially harmful tones but allow Data to hear and speak through it.

Once it was completed she asked, “Can you hear or feel this?” and she sang extremely high and low tones outside of human hearing with force straight at Data’s bubble. The crew felt their bodies shake, and looked at each other with raised eyebrows. But Data responded he could neither hear nor feel a thing. Neara smiled with satisfaction.

The view screen and comms were on, and Leyna’s voice instructed them to get ready, they would start momentarily. The crew put on their head pieces and waited. They could see multiple Ahmriana whizzing by, crisscrossing each other, becoming a blur across the screen. Then it started.

The sound was deafening. Even with their headgear on, it was piercing. They could feel it vibrating their bodies, rattling their teeth. Picard was glad he had urinated earlier, because his bladder was buzzing.

Damage was beginning, and the crew swiftly remedied it. The aquarium burst, and Neara quickly transferred the fish to the lake below. The damage became more severe as the procedure continued, the crew working at a frenzied pace to keep up. Picard hollered commands at Neara when critical systems were at risk. The frenetic tempo continued, the crew’s bodies vibrating to the point of pain, but they pushed on.

Suddenly, Worf cried out, grabbing his head. Crusher ran over to check him. She diagnosed that the frequency hitting his cranial plate was causing a severe reverberation into his brain. Neara came over and did a quick protective sphere around his head, and Worf returned to normal.

The frequency picked up, and just when they thought they couldn’t handle any more, the sound abruptly stopped. The crew let out a collective sigh of relief.

Leyna’s voice informed, “We are done now. You have your protection from the Q. We will send people in to fix any damage. We will bring you back to the planet, unless there is something you wish to do on your ship.”

“Well, I for one really need to urinate, so I either need to get to the planet, or get to a bathroom on the ship lickity-split,” Riker stated in joking earnest. Everyone laughed, because they all had the same need.

“I will send you straight to your rooms,” Leyna acknowledged. They all stood and appeared instantaneously in their respective rooms in the Ahta household.

Neara sang to disperse Data’s temporary protective sphere. “There you are ka’lee. Do you need to pee?” Data shook his head. “Do you wish to eat?” Data shook his head again. “Do you wish to practice making our child?” Data’s response was to swoop a laughing Neara up in his arms and take her to bed.

It was another evening of communal eating and dancing. The crew would miss the glorious food and the Ahmriana flying them once they left, so they were taking in as much as they could while they were still on the planet. They would also miss the uninterrupted twelve hours of adult time – they were making the most of that as well.

The gathering had finally retired for the evening. Data and Neara were in their room making love, Data standing, Neara clinging onto his front, riding him. They held each other’s arms and she leaned back, when a sound like thunder boomed overhead.

“La’Ma, take us outside,” Neara said excitedly. “It is an energy storm.”

“Do you wish to dress?” Data inquired.

“No, we should make love in the storm. Every Ahmriana will do so,” she informed.

They went through the window and Data stood on the grass, Neara still connected to him. Data watched as Ahmrian blue droplets fell from the sky. But it was not water, they were packets of energy. It hit their skin and the sensation filled him. He felt like he did during their ka’nashta. It was remarkable.

Neara was beautiful, so very beautiful, and she felt incredible, so very incredible. Data was getting lost in her and did not even notice the others filtering out of their rooms to enjoy the storm.

Crew members heard the thunder and saw the Ahmriana out and came to investigate. Everyone absorbed the energy, felt the raw desire, the exquisite sensation of another’s touch, and started undressing.

Ahmriana and crew members were spread over the grass, making love in pairs and groups. Jossa had joined one of the groups. Deanna and Will came out and lay in the grass, having intercourse. Geordi and Worf went outside, and Geordi lay down, enjoying the experience. Seyta went over and lay on top of him, kissing him. Worf pealed off his clothing and raised his hands to the sky, laughing heartily, spinning slowly in a circle. Naked Ahmriana flew around him in the opposite direction, running their hands over his body and kissing him as he turned.

Crusher had come out at Seyta’s urging and stood with her head back, eyes closed, palms out, absorbing the energy. Yara and his ka’sha joined her, and soon they all had their clothes off, a pile of bodies writhing in the grass.

Leyna knew Picard was more staid, so they remained in her room, lying in bed.

“It is an energy storm, which brings feelings like the ka’nashta,” Leyna explained. “They do not happen often. It was probably brought about by the happy feelings of your crew and the work we did on your ship. There has been much joy and energy weaving, and the planet responds.”

She reached her hand out the window and soaked up some energy. She placed that palm on Picard’s bare chest, and he took in a surprised breath. It felt wonderful. She reached her hand out and brought it to Picard’s chest a few more times, then went to his head, his neck, his limbs. Then they made love.

The energy storm finally passed, and the beings slowly made their way indoors. The sensation had been wondrous. As the crew went to their beds, they realized it was yet another unforgettable experience on Ahmria.


	30. Birthdays

The time on Ahmria had passed all too quickly, and they were on the ship, headed for their next mission. Although the crew would longingly reminisce about Ahmria, Neara was now able to return whenever she wanted. Since Data knew she was a Weaver, she could make a psi doorway from their quarters to the Dessa moon. She did not make a permanent doorway feeling this was too risky, since the Enterprise encountered their share of dangerous beings. And she was not able to do it too often, since it sapped her energy. But she was able to return approximately every three weeks, giving her enough time to fully recover in between.

Neara spent a considerable amount of time searching the universe for a being who would help them create their child. She figured while she was doing this, she would search for a love partner for Jenna D’Soro. Jenna had had a series of unsuccessful relationships, and Neara thought it would be a nice birthday present for her to meet someone compatible. She had found someone just in time. His name was Tim Witek and he was a human engineer in Starfleet. A lucky break for Neara. She used her influence to have him transferred, and while working in engineering with him, she invited him to Jenna’s birthday party in Ten Forward under the guise of getting to know the crew.

He was a handsome and friendly man, and when Neara introduced the two, they hit it off immediately. Neara was very satisfied, and although Jenna would never know the hand she had in bringing them together, Data knew – and he adored her for it.

It was Picard’s fiftieth birthday and although he didn’t want anything special, the crew had gone out of their way to create a holodeck celebration. It was set in a grassy park, with a buffet covering several long tables, and a band playing in the bandstand. Chairs were dotted across the grass, people sitting and chatting with drinks and plates of food.

As the sky darkened, the bandstand disappeared and a stage took its place. Seats were moved to face the stage, with Picard given the center front seat. The crew performed Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” ending with an eruption of applause from the audience.

The stage disappeared and a fireworks display began. Neara and Data had their chairs together, sharing a blanket. Troi and Riker were sitting in the row beside them. Data reached his hand under the blanket, went up Neara’s skirt and started masturbating her. Neara scooched down and spread her legs a little to give him better access.

Riker noticed the motion and whispered in Troi’s ear, “Is he doing what I think he’s doing?”

Troi looked over and smirked. “I think so,” she whispered back.

“It’s making me need a blanket,” Riker jokingly confessed, and Troi playfully smacked his arm.

Neara’s eyes were glazed, looking at the fireworks, but not watching them. She was getting close.

The fireworks started picking up, reaching the finale.

She held her breath, trying not to make a noise – she was cumming. Suddenly, “ _Great universe!”_ escaped from her lips just as the fireworks reached their crescendo.

Thankfully everybody thought she was marveling at the display. Everyone except Riker and Troi – they were looking at her, knowing grins on their faces. She smiled at them and laughed a satisfied laugh. Great universe, she loved her husband.

It was Neara’s birthday, and this time they would be celebrating on Ahmria. For her last birthday, her first birthday with Data, she told him she did not want anything special. She said they always had a big celebration at home, so she was looking forward to a subdued birthday with him. He had taken her to Ten Forward for a meal and a small cake with a candle on it. Then he brought her home and gave her a long massage and made love to her through the night. If her post-massage orgasm was anything to go by, Data thought she had enjoyed her birthday immensely.

It had been five months since Data’s family were on Ahmria, and Neara invited them to join her and Data for the celebration. Since learning she was a Weaver, they were made privy to her psi doorway ability. This was important, because the couple had already been to visit five times, and their absence on the ship might otherwise be noted. Worf quickly declined, being a little uncomfortable with the Ahmrian culture. Geordi was in the middle of a critical retrofit in engineering, so he couldn’t make it, but agreed to take care of Spot during their time away. Crusher was at a conference. Picard felt he should stay on the ship, since his two most senior officers would be unavailable. Riker and Troi were off duty after the arrival of their child, Thaddeus, last month, and they readily accepted Neara’s invitation. They were looking forward to twelve hours of uninterrupted adult, or rather adult sleeping, time. The three arrived at Neara and Data’s quarters to travel to Ahmria.

In the days before her birthday, Neara was fretting – Data had never seen her like that before. Apparently the birth of Ahmria’s Weaver was a big deal, and they had an equally big celebration. Neara was supposed create a special gift for her people that day. She explained many of the beautiful sites she had shown him were created by prior Weavers. Her mother had suggested she make a multi-colored waterfall, but Neara felt she needed to do more, since she missed her last birthday. She talked it over with Data, the various things she could do, and he was amazed.

She could change the landscape by adding a mountain, a waterfall, a lake. She could call up an energy storm. She could create new animals or plants. She could make psi doorways to new locations. Data was concerned any creation would deplete Neara’s energy, but she assured him it was much, much easier on Ahmria – the planet helped her. With Data’s input, she finally decided what she would do.

Neara intoned to make her doorway, and the five went through. She sang again, and the doorway evaporated behind them. They waited on the moon Dessa until the protective sphere encompassed them, then the doorway to Ahmria opened in front of them and Neara’s family came through and greeted them joyously. The happy group proceeded to Ahmria.

The sound on the other side was booming. They were met by thousands of jubilant Ahmriana singing, flying about, and dancing. Some flew down with pots of Ahmrian blue and painted the incomers. They colored their lips, and drew swirls like at Neara and Data’s wedding on their third eye and their throat. They pulled down their tops and drew them over the middle of their chest and on their inner right wrist. They even drew swirls over Thaddeus’s third eye and chest. He gurgled contentedly at the attention.

They had not painted Neara, but flew her up into the crowd and removed her clothing. They washed her down with indigo liquid then painted her entire body, including her hair, Ahmrian blue. They covered her in a gossamer kaftan embedded with crystals sparkling like stars.

The group was flown over to an amphitheater, the walls and floor containing the same type of geode crystals as in Lore’s healing table. They floated Neara to the middle and stopped singing and began intoning, their combined voices as loud as when they did the Riaka. The crystals began to vibrate and the harmonic flowed through them, making them feel fanastic – energizing them.

They stopped, then Neara intoned. It filled the amphitheater with Neara’s incredible vocal range. Even though the incomers couldn’t hear her entire range, they could feel the difference in their bodies. It somehow was vibrating more of them, deeper into them and higher into their brains. It felt as if it reached above their heads and pulsed beyond the border of their bodies. Suddenly, the entire gathering glowed Ahmrian blue and let out a huge cheer. Deanna and Will looked at each other in wonder then smilingly admired their glowing baby.

Neara gathered her breath and intoned a total of three times for the group. Afterwards, they smiled and laughed and danced in joy.

Jossa floated over to Neara and announced in Ahmrian, “ _We have chosen the task we would like our Weaver to accomplish on behalf of our people. There is an invasive vegetation that was accidentally released through an alien encounter on the planet Bonastos IV. It is set to cover the planet and obliterate all other life forms, since the native fauna cannot eat it. Will you please remove this invasive species and return the planet to its proper vibration?”_ Data translated for his friends.

Neara nodded her agreement, the Ahmrian nod – tilting her head from the upper left to the lower right. The crowd merrily sang the chant that ended in _zaza_. Jossa put is hand on her head, Data assumed so he could inform her of the planet’s location, and she nodded her understanding. She took in three breaths, her eyes turned to blue ice, and she began to intone. She did not seem aware of the Ahmriana whizzing around her. She continued her harmonic for a while then stopped, the Ahmriana cheering at the exact same time. Apparently they could monitor the progress of the task and its completion.

“ _Thank you Weaver,”_ Jossa acknowledged. “ _Now it is time for our Weaver to strengthen Ahmria’s harmonic.”_ With that, the group popped over to six consecutive places on the planet. One at each pole, and four, equidistantly placed, around the equator. At each one, Neara bent down on one knee, placed a hand on the ground, and intoned – her eyes blue ice, her voice a many-layered harmonic. The ground rumbled, the sky thundered, and the air around them crackled with energy.

“ _Now we will let our Weaver relax with her family. We will meet up in front of the Ahta household at the gloaming_ _for the gift giving_ _,”_ Jossa informed,  and the Ahmriana disbanded.

Neara’s group went to the Ahta homestead and settled in. Data and Neara made love, and Will, Deanna, and Thaddeus took a nap. The group left their paint on, as was expected until after the celebration ended. Leyna informed Deanna and Will it would wash off easily enough when the time came, but would not rub off, so they need not worry.

The gloaming soon approached and the group waited in the Ahta clearing for everyone to arrive, Neara wearing her kaftan. The Ahmriana quickly congregated, and Neara flew to the middle.

“ _I have four gifts for you this year, to make up for missing last year,”_ Neara stated in Ahmrian, Data translating for his friends. The crowd cheered. “ _These gifts are in honor of my ka’sha. His father was human, and Earth is his adoptive home. As we have seen from a distance,_ _and my family have been fortunate enough to see in person,_ _there are many beautiful wonders on the planet. I would like to create some for enjoyment on Ahmria.”_

Neara became her Weaver self, stretched her arms and intoned, and hundreds of butterflies appeared of different sizes and colors. Data had helped Neara create their colors and patterns by making paintings of them, but this was the first time he had seen them alive. It was magnificent. The Ahmriana made noises of awe while butterflies flitted around and landed on their outstretched hands, their shoulders, their hair.

“ _The_ butterfly _is a symbol of change on Earth, because they start like this,”_ and Neara intoned again, followed by hundreds of caterpillars of different colors and sizes floating around them. Again, this was the first time Data had seen his artistry come to life. “ _At this stage, they are called_ caterpillars. _After a time they weave themselves into these_ chrysalises,” and with another intonation, hundreds floated among them, “ _before emerging into_ butterflies _._

“ _I will distribute them among the flower fields on our planet for your enjoyment,”_ and with a wave, the insects disappeared.

“ _Next, I would like to give you these,”_ and a few hundred dragonflies materialized and buzzed around, their likeness visualized with Data’s help. Again, he was enthralled to see them as living creatures. The Ahmriana were equally enthralled. “ _They are called_ dragonflies, _and they reproduce in the water. I will place them at lakes around the planet.”_

From what Neara told him, Data knew these new insects would only eat Ahmriakana and would remain at the population levels she had just created.

“ _For your third gift, I would like to give you a special Earth experience. This is called_ snow _,”_ and Neara spread her arms up and wide, and snow started falling. The Ahmriana made sounds of excited wonder as the cold flakes hit their skin and accumulated on the ground.

Will stuck out his tongue to catch snowflakes, and the Ahmriana saw and imitated him. He scooped up snow and made snowballs and threw them, the Ahmriana imitating this as well. Soon there was a full-blown snowball fight with children squealing in delight. Will showed them how to make snow angels and snow people. Neara came out of her Weaver mode and joined the festivities. They played for quite some time, then Neara became her Weaver self again.

“ _For my fourth and final gift, I would like to make a doorway to Earth. This way, you can experience the many wonders there for yourself. Humans know of our existence, so we are safe to travel there. I will place the doorway in a hidden location, though, because they do not know of our doorways – only Data’s family are aware.”_ Leyna had already extended the protective shield around the moon Dessa, and now opened the doorway to it. The gathering all flew through. When everyone had arrived, Neara got on her knees and sat on her ankles. She swept her arms wide, like she had done while making the protection for the Enterprise, and intoned. Where her other gifts had seemed effortless, Data could see this was taking much more strength to create. So much so that Leyna, Jossa, and Yara had their hands on her, singing, evidently feeding her energy to help her complete the task. Now Data could see, Ahmria really did help Neara.

Once she was done, Leyna sang and the image of a cave appeared in the archway Neara had created. The Ahmriana gave their cheer of _zaza_ and flew around in joy. Some Ahmriana came down and started filtering through the doorway, and the Ahtas helped Neara to stand.

Data came over to her, concerned. “I am fine La’Ma, just a little tired. As I told you, the planet helps me, but unfortunately could not help me here. It is worth the effort though, they are so happy,” and Neara swept her hand indicating the jubilant Ahmriana.

They had their communal meal and dancing, then Data took Neara to bed. They would spend the week on Ahmria giving Neara time to recover, and giving a grateful Deanna and Will a blissful week of sleep.

It had been six months since Neara revealed she was a Weaver and the Enterprise’s trip to Ahmria. Since then, they had returned to the planet every three to four weeks, their last visit being last month for Neara’s birthday. This month was Data’s birthday – the day he was discovered on Omicron Theta. They were planning to go to Ahmria and then make a trip to Earth through the new doorway Neara had constructed on her birthday.

Neara awoke and rolled over to kiss him. “Good morning ka’lee!” she sang. “Happy birthday – I will be right back,” and she got up and went to the bathroom. Data noted she was taking longer than usual, then she came out, a big bow wrapped around her naked body. Data sat up in bed.

“I have a present for you ka’lee. You enjoyed it so all last year, I thought you might appreciate the same present again this year,” Neara smiled mischievously and straddled him. Data unwrapped his present and they made love.

Afterwards, as they lay kissing Neara said, “I have another present for you ka’lee.” She reached over to the nightstand drawer and pulled out a wrapped box and handed it to Data. He untied the bow and ripped the packaging as Wesley had previously instructed him and opened the box. Inside was a silver baby’s rattle. Data looked up inquisitively.

“I have found the person who will help us,” Neara enlightened with a broad smile.

Data’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he pulled his wife close and kissed her with a joy, passion, and excitement that sprung from the center of his body, just below his sternum. It was an incredibly deep feeling, but he knew there were even more amazing feelings yet to come. Neara had just given him the best birthday present he had ever received – he was going to have a child with the person he loved.


	31. Familial Assistance

“Data, I feel we should tell your family,” Neara stated. It was the morning after Data’s birthday, and Data and Neara were sitting at the kitchen table talking about the best course of action to get to Donaerua, the planet where the person who could help them was located.

“I could make a doorway to it, but this planet has some sort of protection, and it might be unsafe to just show up there. Or they might find it rude – it is not the way we want to start off if we are asking for help,” Neara reasoned. “Also ka’lee, I know I will need to help this being create devices in order to make our child possible, so I will need my strength – I cannot be creating doorways.”

“Perhaps we could go to Ahmria and find a way to communicate with the people on Donaerua. Then you could create a doorway and they could come to Ahmria to do the procedure,” Data suggested. “That way, you could recover on the planet before helping them create the devices.” Data knew a Weaver was the only Ahmriana able to create new doorways, and he also knew Neara recovered quickly soaking up Ahmriakana. He thought this would be a good way to spare his family’s involvement.

“Something tells me they will not wish to speak with us. They are distrustful, and I feel they would not welcome a doorway to their planet. I think it would be better if we were on the Enterprise, at their planet, ready to go if we are able to discuss our needs with them. But there is one other reason I think we should tell your family,” Neara elucidated. “I could ask the Prime Healer, but I feel Beverly will bring success in creating our child. She has examined the Borg, Hugh, and has knowledge of the intricacies of biological and synthetic combination. She also is familiar with your systems – how you work. The Prime Healer has no experience with either. Adjusting Lore’s harmonic is very different from knowledge of these physical systems. I just have an inner knowing if we ask Beverly, our child will definitely happen.”

Data could not argue with that. With her revelations, he understood this to be the best course of action. “I will call the senior staff together… my family… and ask them if they will help,” Data resolved. “But if they say no, then we must be prepared to do it on our own. It may even mean I must resign from Starfleet.”

“Are you willing to do that Data?” Neara asked tenderly, placing a hand on his arm.

“Yes, absolutely” he said with conviction. “I want a child together more than being in Starfleet.”

“I hope your family agrees to help us,” Neara said and sat on Data’s lap and kissed him.

Data had requested a meeting of the senior staff, and Picard called them all to the conference room. Once they had settled, Picard nodded to Data to begin.

“I have an important request to make of you,” Data addressed the gathering. “As you know, Neara is able to use her psi wave to search the universe. She used it to find me, and now she has used it to find a person who can help us conceive a child.” The group looked around the table at each other in surprise.

“How exactly will this person help you?” Picard queried.

“Neara and I would like to create a clone embryo of her and then add a quantum strand of my neural net to the embryo’s brain area. The person Neara has found has the ability to extract this quantum strand. We realize this is against Federation regulations, but it is the only way our two physical entities can conceive.

“I would ask for your help in this, but I understand if you wish to refuse. Helping us create a family may put your careers in jeopardy if it were ever discovered. Captain, I am prepared to resign from Starfleet if you feel my pursuing this course of action would be detrimental to you or the crew in any way.”

“Before you jump ahead of yourself Data, why not ask the Federation to change the regulations? Certainly this would be seen as a medically necessary procedure,” Picard reasoned.

“Given the Federation’s fear of Borg technology, I calculate a ninety-eight percent chance they will say no. I believe once they knew of Neara and my desire to create a child this way, they would attempt to ensure we could not carry out the procedure. Perhaps by watching and curtailing our movements, or finding and threatening the person who would help us,” Data conveyed.

“So what do you need from us, Data?” Picard asked.

“Neara says she needs her strength to create the necessary equipment for the procedure, so she cannot create a doorway to the planet. We request that you please take us there.

“More importantly, Dr Crusher, Neara feels the procedure would have the best chance of success if you were to implant the clone with my neural net. She says you have first-hand knowledge of Borg technology through Hugh and you are familiar with my workings, whereas the Prime Healer has neither. We both feel you have the appropriate skill set needed. But if you do not wish to risk helping us, we completely understand.”

Crusher was taken aback. Assisting Data and Neara to conceive this way would be a medical miracle, and the mere thought of the challenge was exhilarating. But if it was ever found out, there was the very real prospect of losing her career. Data was family, though, and he so longed for a child. She wanted to do this for him… she knew she could do this for him.

“I’ll help you Data,” Crusher agreed.

“Thank you Doctor,” Data said earnestly.

“Well, it would seem the rest of us have a decision to make,” Picard laid out. “If you don’t wish to be a party to Data’s plan, then please leave now. If, for some reason, the true nature of his child is revealed, we will say you had no involvement in or knowledge of the matter. If you stay, then we will do whatever we can to aid Data and Neara in their endeavor. Of course, in either event, this discussion is to be kept between only those present.”

Everyone looked at each other, and everyone stayed. Data smiled and had a feeling his heart was filling up. He was so grateful to his family.

“Thank you all,” Data said, moved. “I consider you my family, and that is why I wanted you here. I wanted you to know the truth, regardless of your decision. Your support is more deeply meaningful to Neara and me than I can fully express.”

He turned to Picard, “I have the coordinates for the planet. It is called Donaerua and is in the Tyga quadrant. Since we are en route to the Veygus system, this will cause a considerable delay. I suggest we say I am having an issue with my neural net and I have found an expert on Donaerua.”

“They say the best lies have elements of truth,” Riker said to Picard.

“Indeed. We’ll see if we can make up some time. If not, we’ll use your excuse Data,” and Picard looked around the table to see if anyone wished to comment further. The group was resolute. “Dismissed.”


	32. Creation

They got to the coordinates for Donaerua, and the planet wasn’t there. The nearest planets were two light years away.

“Na Soonga, would you come to the bridge please?” Picard hailed.

“I will be right there,” Neara replied.

“I do not understand Captain. These are the correct coordinates,” Data had confirmed with navigation.

“Check for a cloak over the planet,” Riker instructed Worf.

After a moment, Worf informed, “I cannot find any cloaking anomalies.”

“What could it be? Could she have gotten it wrong?” Riker asked Picard. Just then, Neara bounded onto the bridge.

“Are we there?” she questioned with excitement.

“It seems the coordinates you gave us are incorrect,” Picard elucidated. “The planet isn’t there.”

Neara looked at the screen, then went to the navigation console. “May I?” she requested, and the crew member got up and Neara took her place. She closed her eyes and took three quick breaths. Data new she was going into her Weaver mode, as he called it, to look for the planet. She had one hand on the console and other spread out in front of her. She put them down, opened her eyes, and turned to Picard.

“The protection used to hide the planet is a simple one. It is tricking your instruments into thinking they are at the correct coordinates, but the planet is actually two light years that way,” and Neara pointed to the lower left side of the screen. “If you let me direct the ship, I will take us there.”

“Make it so,” Picard consented.

Neara went back into her Weaver mode, and within a minute, the planet appeared on the screen. She turned to Data and said, “I am not certain they will be happy to see us.” She got up and stood beside Data and the navigator returned to her seat.

Picard hailed the planet, “This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. We would like to speak to you regarding a matter of importance to two of our crew members.”

There was silence. Picard turned to Worf, “Are they receiving our transmission?”

“Yes Captain,” he confirmed.

“Our Commander Data is an android who…” Picard was interrupted.

“Did you say Data?” the voice queried.

“Yes. Lieutenant Commander Data…,” Picard was halted by the image on the screen of a man who looked like a human version of Data. Neara and Data and the rest all looked at each other in surprise.

“Well hello brother!” the man called. “I’m Altan Inigo Soong. I’m sure our father told you about me. I’m glad we finally get to meet.”

“Dr Soong did not inform me he had any biological children,” Data was bemused.

Soong laughed, “That figures. He did like to have an air of mystery. If it wasn’t to find me, what brings you to my corner of the universe?

“My wife…” Data started and was cut off.

“Your wife?!” Soong exclaimed. “I haven’t even been able to manage that. You’ll have to come down and tell me all about it.”

“Yes. We would like to talk to you,” Data accepted.

“I’ll be waiting,” and Soong signed off.

Data and Neara went down on their own. Crusher would wait to join them until they gave the go ahead. They beamed directly into Soong’s laboratory, which was jam packed with beeping, buzzing, blinking equipment. There were three non-sentient androids, seemingly oblivious to their arrival, doing various activites in the lab.

Soong smiled widely, hand outstretched to greet them, “Altan Innigo Soong. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He shook Data’s hand.

“This is my wife, Neara,” Data introduced.

Soong took Neara’s hand, “I’m surprised you’re not Vulcan.” Data was again perplexed as to why everyone assumed he would be with a Vulcan. “What exactly are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Soong questioned.

“I am Ahmriana,” Neara answered.

“So are your people enamored with logic as well?” he wondered.

Neara laughed, “No, I would not say our people are known for that!”

“No, I imagine you’re known for your beautiful eyes,” he noted. “Come, come, let’s sit,” he beckoned and took them to a set of couches and table in the corner of the room. Data looked at the other androids and Soong noticed. “I haven’t been able to create a sentient android. Haven’t gotten our father’s knack yet.”

Once seated, Data started, “You asked what brought us to you. We have a favor to ask of you, but it would require disobeying Federation regulations regarding developing Borg technology.”

“Well, if there’s one thing that’s consistent with us Soongs, it’s that none of us are rule followers. What exactly are you looking to do Data? Do you want to add a Borg feature to your system?” Soong asked.

Data took Neara’s hand, “Neara and I want to have a child together. We want to create a clone embryo of Neara and implant the brain with a quantum strand of my neural net. Then implant Neara with the embryo so she can carry the child to term.” Soong was stupefied.

“Neara has the ability to search the universe, and she used it to search for the person who could help us accomplish this,” Data continued. “And we found you. It stands to reason the person to help us would have close ties to Dr Soong. Did you work with our father?”

“Yes, early on – until he started having an affair with a doctoral student and left for Omicron Theta with her. He divorced my mother and apparently married the other woman. I stopped talking to him after he left. My mother never forgave him,” Soong explained. “I knew when he left, he was getting very close to creating a sentient android. I of course found out about you later. Regardless of how he left, I’m happy he was finally able to construct you. And I’m even happier I’m finally getting to meet you, and hopefully, help you.”

“So you will help us create our child?” Data queried.

“I’d be excited and honored to help you Data,” Soong confirmed. Neara and Data looked at each other, bursting with joy. “But first things first, I’ll need to have a look at what I’m working with – I’ll need to take a gander at your neural net.”

“Of course,” Data readily agreed. They got up and Soong led them to a chair in the center of the lab and motioned Data to sit. He went to open his cranial unit and couldn’t find the latch.

“I am sorry Altan, I will need to do that. Neara has made it so only I can allow access to my processes,” Data explained. Soong raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Neara. She smiled back at him while Data released the latch.

Soong brought over an electronic device on an arm which made a three dimensional scan of his head. He looked at it on a screen and focused in.

“My god!” he sighed. “What’s all this?” Neara looked over his shoulder at the weaving she had done.

“I have been working on giving him emotions,” Neara informed him. “As you know, he had none, because they made Lore unstable. I have had to be very careful, so as not to create instability. It is very delicate work.”

“You can say that again. This is remarkable – the quantum level fibers. I’ve never seen anything like it!” he marveled.

“I am going out to get some air, then I will be back to help you,” Neara said, gave Data a kiss, and walked out.

Soong was still staring at the screen, “Data, I have to warn you now – I want to steal your wife away from you. I’ve fallen in love with her. This is incredible – she’s incredible.” Data did not know what to make of Soong’s comment. He decided Soong was only joking, at least, he hoped he was only joking.

A couple minutes later, Neara came back in. “Alright, we have work to do. We must make the necessary instruments for the procedure. What do we need to make our child possible?” she asked Soong.

“We’ll need some kind of containment field to hold a quantum strand of Data’s neural net to ensure it’s stable before the transfer. And an instrument that’s able to remove and embed the strand while holding it in its quantum state. That could take months, if not years to make – if ever,” Soong said in defeat.

“Data,” Neara beckoned Data to get up. He closed his cranial unit and Neara moved Soong into the chair. She cleared a space on the table in front of them. She took three quick breaths and her eyes turned to blue ice. Soong was startled by the transformation. She placed her hand on top of his head with her other outstretched toward the table.

“Think of what you need, and I will make it,” she commanded.

Soong didn’t know how she would accomplish this, but given the quantum level work he’d seen, he had no reason to doubt her. He started thinking of the containment device, and it began forming on the table in front of him. He looked on in wonder – it was magical.

“No, no,” Neara’s eyes were closed while she built, but Soong realized she somehow knew something was wrong. “You must concentrate. You are not concentrating. Try again.” She waved her hand and the device disappeared. Soong tried again.

“Good, that is good,” Neara encouraged. After a few moments of construction she said, “No, that will not work. What is that? Here,” and the device dissipated until it was just the one piece she was questioning. Soong realized she was right – that wouldn’t work. “Try again,” she instructed, and Soong rethought the device.

Soon it was rebuilt with Neara encouraging, “Good, good,” and, “Yes, that will work.” She opened her eyes, removed her hand from Soong’s head, and with a gleeful smile said, “Perfect! Data will you move this please?” Data cleared space on the workbench behind them and carried the device over.

“Now for the second device,” and Neara placed her hand on Soong’s head. Even though the device was only to hold and embed the quantum strand, Soong thought, with Neara’s quantum abilities, he could create a more expansive device – perhaps one that worked off what a person desired, what they imagined. Their wishes creating from the quantum level up, manipulating the material universe.

He thought of this device and watched as Neara created it. He basically thought of what Neara was doing, put into a device. She was in essence creating her own abilities, distilling them down to a handheld instrument.

Neara could feel what he was doing, so she put in some safeguards. The device could only be used for smaller projects, such as the neural transfer or small repairs. She did the same with the containment field, ensuring it could only be used with one strand of neural net and only Data’s neural net. Of course, Soong would most likely deconstruct the devices, perhaps enabling him to create more powerful ones, but she did try to forestall that circumstance until hopefully he was prepared for the responsibility.

The instruments were ready, and Neara told Crusher it was time to beam down. She asked Soong if there was a place Crusher could create the clone embryo and implant Neara once it was ready. He took her to a back room where there was an inanimate android on a raised table. He had Data move it so Neara could use it for her procedure.

They returned to the lab as Crusher beamed down, medical equipment in hand. Introductions made, Neara took Crusher to the back room to start on the embryo. Data could see Neara had tired from all her creating, but she was very happy, and the joy seemed to buoy her.

Soong escorted Data back to the chair where Data opened his cranial unit for his neural net extraction. Soong excitedly held his new device, eager to see what it could do. He didn’t want to remove any of the new emotion network, but wanted to give the child a distinct part of Data. Perhaps his speed in calculations – that would be fascinating, to see how fast a biological child could compute. He maneuvered the instrument to that area of Data’s brain, thought of the child having that ability, and went to the containment device. He placed it inside, and nothing registered. He obviously had done it wrong. He’d have to try again.

He thought of the strand jumping from the instrument to the containment device. It didn’t work. He tried a few other variations, then eventually visualized snipping a quantum strand that remained attached to the instrument until he placed it in the containment device. It registered – it was finally there!

Crusher came out with medical equipment containing the embryo, keeping it in stasis. She had developed the embryo to six weeks of age, the beginning of the Ahmriana brain. Soong indicated she should place the equipment on the table beside the containment device.

He handed her the imagination instrument. “All you have to do is imagine what you want to have happen, and this device will do it,” he instructed. “But you have to be extremely clear, otherwise it won’t work.”

“OK,” Crusher acknowledged. She was nervous. She had never done anything like this before. It was a new life form she was creating. But she was also excited. If only she could let the Federation know of the incredible procedure she was about to perform. Perhaps one day… in a distant future.

She visualized taking the quantum strand and placing it in the cerebrum – in the thinking and memory areas of the brain. In her mind, she saw it fusing with the tissues. She carefully chose the placement and just as carefully thought of it fusing on the cellular, down to the quantum level. She took her time, just as she would in a surgery, to ensure she did not make a mistake. She visualized it flowing into that area, becoming a part of the very base structure. It would grow as she grew, it would learn as she learned. It would be a part of her nature and being. She was truly Data and Neara’s child.

When she felt she had given sufficient time to ensure it had fused properly, she handed the instrument back to Soong. He brought over the three dimensional scanner and ran it across the embryo. They could see on the screen what looked like a tiny silk thread snaking across the embryo’s brain area.

“Good job Doc!” Soong said and gave Crusher hearty pat on the back.

Data’s mouth was open in wonder, “Thank you Doctor.”

“Alright, I’d better get this little miracle inside of Neara,” Crusher said, and took the embryo into the back room. Data joined her.

Data held Neara’s hand and watched as Crusher implanted the embryo.

“All done,” she announced. “Neara, I want you to stay lying down for an hour. And no penetrative sex for the next two weeks. You two have gone through a lot to conceive this child, so you don’t want to do anything to risk it.” They both thanked Crusher profusely and she left the room.

Neara and Data kissed and Neara smiled broadly. “We are pregnant now Data, we are going to have our baby!” she exclaimed.

“This is wonderful,” he said with deep love in his eyes.

“I would like you to do one thing for me though. Will you give me oral pleasure please?” Neara requested.

“Are you certain that is alright to do?” Data queried.

“Yes, it will help to implant it very firmly,” she assured.

Data went about giving Neara oral sex, and when she reached climax, she let out a _great universe_ very loudly.

Crusher and Soong were sitting on the couches in the front room sipping tea when Soong asked, “Are they having sex in there?”

“It sounds like it,” Crusher concurred. “And if they are, all I can say is, they’d better be following my instructions!”


	33. Pregnancy and Birth

Neara awoke to find Data’s hand resting on her abdomen over her uterus.

She turned to him and smiled, “Good morning ka’lee. Do you feel anything yet?”

“No, I do not. Do you?” he asked.

“I feel a tickle in my uterus. And I feel a rushing in my body. I do not know how you say it, but it is like it is running away with itself – it knows what to do and does not need my input,” Neara elucidated.

“Do you mean, your body feels as if it is on autopilot?” Data queried.

“Yes! Autopilot,” Neara agreed.

She gave him a quick kiss then got up and went to the bathroom. When she returned she climbed on top of him.

“We cannot have penetrative sex, but there is still much we can do to please each other,” Neara said suggestively.

“But we must see Dr Crusher shortly,” Data cautioned.

“We have time,” Neara responded and started kissing down his neck.

Neara did not see the point of a baby shower, since everything needed for the baby could be gotten from the replicators. Even so, Troi thought she would bring Neara a gift. She came to Neara and Data’s quarters, gift in hand.

“Hello Deanna!” Neara greeted.

“Hi Neara. I know you didn’t want a shower, but I brought you a gift anyway,” Deanna proffered.

Neara directed them to the couch and they sat.

“Thank you Deanna. Should I open it now?” she asked.

“Yes, please do,” Troi answered.

Neara tore open the wrapping and looked at the machine in puzzlement. Troi saw her confusion.

“It’s a breast pump. It’s the same model I used when I was breastfeeding Thad. It’s a very good one – I think you’ll like it,” Deanna enthused.

Neara looked hesitant, then slowly passed the gift back to Deanna. “I am sorry Deanna – I think I would prefer to do it the Ahmriana way.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you had a special Ahmrian device. Sorry,” Deanna apologized.

“We do not use a device,” Neara explained. “Our ka’sha, or another if one does not have a ka’sha like my Tahtee did not, sucks the milk out and spits it into a bladder formed like a breast. The bladder keeps the milk in perfect condition until it is time to feed the baby. It is then strapped over the chest so the ka’sha can feed the child.”

She made a moue of consideration, “Although Data might prefer to use a baby bottle. I assume the opening is large enough that he can spit in the milk he sucked out.” She furrowed her brow, “But he will not have the flora and fauna in his saliva for the baby. I suppose she will be alright without it. But it is very important, otherwise animals all over the universe would not chew and spit food for their young.” Her eyebrows raised with a sudden brainwave, “I could spit into the bottles when he is finished. That way she would get the necessary nourishment.”

Deanna felt queasy with the thought. Although she could see the logic in the Ahmriana way of doing things – children who were exposed to lots of germs and microbes early on were much healthier. In this case though, she would just have to chalk the differences up to cultural exchange. If she had another child, she would definitely not be using the Ahmriana technique.

Data was hooked up to the computer with Geordi working on him to reset his corrupted programming when Neara stormed into engineering. She held her large, pregnant belly with one arm and gesticulated wildly with the other as she yelled at him in Ahmrian. Geordi could tell this was bad, he had never seen Neara like this before.

“I am sorry Neara. I am sorry,” Data kept repeating.

She changed to English, “We are expecting a child! You do not need to do foolish things like this. You cannot put your life at risk to potentially run the ship in an emergency! You could have been killed or permanently damaged! As it was, we are lucky Worf, Alexander, and Deanna were not hurt.”

She rounded on Geordi, “And you – I blame you for this as well! You should know better than to go along with this crazy scheme! You are fortunate nothing more happened to him. I will be speaking to Jean-Luc about this as well!”

“Please Neara, you do not need to do that,” Data entreated. “It was my idea – they were only going along with my suggestion.”

“Then you have been a thoughtless idiot!” Neara said with finality, turned abruptly, and marched out.

“Wow. I don’t envy you going home tonight,” Geordi commiserated.

“Nor do I,” Data agreed.

Data walked through the door to his quarters hesitantly. Neara had never been angry with him before, so he was not certain what to expect. She was sitting in the living area, her back to the door.

He walked over and sat beside her. She was looking down and away from him. He touched her shoulder gently, “Neara, I am sorry I upset you. I will not do anything like that again. It was foolish and irresponsible. I did not consider the potential danger and what that could mean for us and our child. Please forgive me.”

Neara sat there quietly, and Data wondered if she was too angry with him to speak. Then she looked over. Her eyes were full of tears, her cheeks wet with them. When Data saw this, several feelings flooded him. He was shocked he had made her cry. He had never hurt her like this before. He felt ashamed and guilty. He had truly scared her. He felt regret for his foolhardy endeavor quickly followed by a panic. What could he do to make her feel better? Would she forgive him? What could he do to help her forgive him?

Neara reached up and touched his cheek, “I am sorry my fear turned to anger. I do not want to lose you. I love you. I want our child to have her Vahtee. I do not want to be without you. I understand putting your life on the line if it is absolutely necessary, but please, do not do so voluntarily. Do not scare me this way. My heart cannot take it.”

Data pulled Neara close and said, “I promise I will never scare you like that again.” He kissed her, and she seemed to melt in his arms – the tension draining out of her body. As he brushed the tears off her cheeks and kissed her some more, he vowed he would never give her reason to cry again.

At the beginning of her pregnancy, Crusher was unsure if Neara would have the typical Ahmriana seven months gestation, because the embryo was already six weeks old when implanted. The Prime Healer had not experienced nor heard of this situation before, so she could not say. Crusher also wasn’t certain when or if the neural net would grow. So far, it hadn’t.

The gestation did turn out to be seven months, and it passed quickly. Early on, Neara had suggested Data practice his childcare by offering to watch Thad at night so Deanna and Will could get some sleep. They gratefully accepted, and the nights Data was not working night watch they dropped Thad off. For three months they did this until Thad started sleeping through the night.

Neara remained very amorous during her pregnancy, and Data was concerned about any vigorous sexual activities. He spoke to Crusher, and she assured him it would be OK, although he was still tentative. Neara just blithely laughed over his nervousness and rode him hard when she wanted.

The only time Neara spoke to Crusher on her own regarding her pregnancy was to give Crusher an instruction. She understood it was human custom to give the child to the mother first. In her case, she wanted Crusher to give the baby to Data first. Neara knew how special this was for Data – how he had longed to have another child. She wanted to see his face when he first held their baby – his baby.

It was close to her seven month due date and Data was off duty with Neara, awaiting the birth. It was afternoon, and Data was sitting on the couch with Neara sitting on the floor between his legs. He was giving her a neck and shoulder rub. Neara looked down and patted her belly, “You are punching my bladder and I must pee _again_. There is not room enough in me for both you and my organs. It is time for you to make your entrance into the universe.”

Neara stood up and walked towards the bathroom when she suddenly stopped. “Oh, I pee already… No, I think my water broke. She must have heard me.” Data had asked Neara if she could hear the baby’s thoughts, but she said the baby was not pushing any into her head, she was quiet. A very quiet baby. According to Neara she did not even move about much, except for the last few days. She was running out of room.

Data bolted up and over to Neara, taking her by the hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist. “Do you need me to carry you to Dr Crusher’s?” he asked.

“No, I am OK,” Neara answered. She was floating beside him and they made their way to the Delivery Room.

Data had hailed Dr Crusher when they set off, and she was ready and waiting for them. She directed Neara to the birthing stool, and Neara made herself as comfortable as she could. She was starting to feel some pain.

Data had previously adjusted his voice box so he could speak proper Ahmrian. The apostrophe between words meant they were sung as a chord. Although Ahmriana could understand a human speaking Ahmrian, their ‘accent’ was jarring. It was akin to listening to someone sing who was tone deaf. That said, they did appreciate the effort.

Since adjusting his voice box, Data could sing many notes at once. He also increased his vocal range which meant he could intone the vibration necessary to ease Neara’s pain. As the Prime Healer had instructed him, he stood behind Neara and ran his middle fingers from the center of her forehead out to her temples three times. He bent over and placed his mouth above her third eye and sang in three long bursts. Neara let out a sigh of relief. If her contractions were lengthy, he would need to perform this intonation again.

It would not be necessary though, because Neara rapidly dilated enough to start pushing. Data was holding Neara’s hand and watching as the head appeared. The baby was quickly out and Crusher announced they had a healthy baby girl. As she wiped her down, Data and Neara smiled joyously at each other and kissed. Before she had finished wiping, the placenta slid out. The nurse waited for Crusher to cut the cord, then took it away. Crusher stood, and to Data’s surprise, she handed the baby to him.

He held her and stared, his mouth forming an O of wonder and awe. His daughter. His baby daughter. Their daughter. He had a daughter with his wife. He never imagined this could happen. He did not know dreams, desires, wishes, could come true this way. He was in love with his wife AND his daughter. He was in love with his family. His very own family.

Neara stared at Data, her mouth a half smile of anticipation. When he turned to look at her, his eyes full of wonder and awe, the smile bloomed across her face. She was so happy. She had given him a gift he had wanted more than anything. He had a child – he had a daughter.

“Here Data, let me have her and we’ll clean her up better and let Mom hold her for a bit,” Crusher requested, reaching out for the baby. Data gently handed her over and went to Neara. He held her hands and kissed her rapidly all over her face like Leyna would do, and Neara laughed.

Data helped Neara up and she made her way onto the bed. She propped herself up and Crusher brought the baby to her. She looked at the swaddled bundle and kissed her head and touched her lips. Then she sang into her third eye area, the spot below her sternum, and the top of her head. The baby glowed Ahmrian blue for a minute, then returned to normal. Neara smiled, and made to hand the baby over to Data.

“I need to lie on my side,” she informed, and Data took their daughter. Secretly, Neara just wanted to watch Data interact with their baby.

Data’s family soon came into the room, all smiles and congratulations. They were overjoyed to see Data holding his daughter. They each came over and gently stroked her head and cooed at her. All except Worf who gave Data and Neara a nod and congratulated them on their healthy-looking child.

“Wow, Ahmriana babies start off with the same beautiful eyes,” Geordi observed as she stared up at him.

“Yep, she’ll have her pick of suitors,” Riker noted.

“What’s her name?” Troi asked.

“Tala. It is Ahmrian for ‘whole’ or ‘complete,’” Data explained.

“Welcome aboard, Tala,” Picard tendered.

After some joyous socializing Crusher said, “Alright, I think we should let the new parents spend time with their baby and let Mom get some rest,” and she shuttled them out of the room.

The next day, Picard took the Enterprise to an Ahmrian portal planet, and Neara’s family beamed on board. Picard escorted them to their accommodations and once they had deposited their things, took them to see Data and Neara. They were in their quarters on the couch, Data holding Tala, when the family and Picard came in.

They stood up as Leyna flew over to Neara and kissed her rapidly all over her face, then went to Data and did the same. The rest of the family came over and gave Neara and Data hugs and kisses, while Leyna bent down and kissed her granddaughter.

“Hello Tala,” Leyna greeted, wrapping Tala’s tiny hand over her finger and stroking it gently with her thumb.

“Would you like to hold her?” Data asked.

“Yes, I would,” Leyna answered and Data passed her over. “You are a very quiet baby,” she cooed and bounced her gently. “Not at all like your Tahtee – you must take after your Vahtee.”

Yara was looking over Leyna’s shoulder and said, “Yes, see how she looks out at the world, like she is observing it. Studying it. She is very wise like her Vahtee – nothing at all like her Tahtee.”

Neara slapped his arm. “I have just given birth and am full of hormones. Do not make me angry Yara!” she said playfully. Yara ducked behind Leyna and feigned fear.

“Your tahtee was a very fussy baby,” Leyna explained to Tala. “She cried all the time, but she had the weight of the universe going through her. It is not easy being a Weaver baby.”

Data had not known this about Neara. “So that lets you know when the child is a Weaver?” he asked Leyna.

“That, and the fact she glowed blue all the time,” Leyna stated.

As the family chatted joyously on, Data thought to himself, he was relieved their child was not a Weaver. She already would have to deal with the unknown effects of her android nature. He was thankful she did not have further challenges.


	34. Baby Days

Data had been up through the night with his daughter. He enjoyed their time together – their special bonding. Between feedings and changing diapers, he would sing “ _Soo Na_ _h_ _See_ ” to her and hold her while she slept in his arms.

He was doing so now, sitting up in bed, watching Tala and Neara sleep. His family. He kissed Tala gently on her head. He had heard others comment on new baby smell, but he had not noticed this until his daughter. She smelled wonderful. He felt very protective of her – her little limbs kicking and grasping, her little mouth searching for food. She was learning about using her body, processing touch and taste, recognizing people, recognizing him – his face, his voice, and his smell. She was finding her way in the universe, as he had done – but it would take her much longer. He would be there to help her through this process, as long as it took. He would always be there for her.

“Have you been holding her all night again?” Neara asked, stretching and yawning.

“Yes. I enjoy it,” Data replied.

“Whatever will she do when you are back on night watch?” Neara wondered.

“Perhaps you will hold her?” Data questioned.

“I do not believe I will be sufficient. It has only been a month, but she is already Daddy’s baby. She loves Vahtee more than Tahtee,” she laughed and sat up and kissed them both.

“Now I will go pee, and you must put her in her crib so I can come back and make love to you,” Neara instructed.

Tala’s eyes opened with the movement as Data gently placed her in her crib beside the bed. “You will find it is best to do as your mother requests. It makes her happy, and I hope you will find you enjoy making her happy as much as I do,” Data said confidentially.

Data lay in bed and moments later Neara came and lay on top of him. “Four weeks are up. Beverly said we could safely have penetrative sex now, and I am anxious to feel you inside me,” she told Data, followed by a sultry kiss.

Data looked over at Tala. “Are you certain she will not remember any of this?” he asked Neara.

“I do not think so,” Neara speculated. “But even if she does, it will only mean her parents love each other. And they like to physically demonstrate their love to one another.”

She kissed him passionately, then kissed down his neck and chest.

“Oh, I have leaked on you. Let me clean it up,” and Neara proceeded to lick the milk off his chest and sucked his nipples.

The first time Data saw Neara’s milk, he was fascinated to see it had an Ahmrian blue cast. This did not surprise him though, as everything on Ahmria had Ahmriakana flowing through it.

Neara sat up straddling Data and rubbed her genitals over his erection, just as she had done on their first date together. She gathered him in and sank slowly down on him, making the same sounds of pleasure she had the first time he had entered her.

Her chest flushed and she squirted out milk. She laughed, “I should have nursed Tala first. I am being very wasteful.” Then she bent down and started licking it up again, slowly changing the licks to kisses, traveling up to Data’s lips, ending in a sensual kiss with a little bit of tongue where he could taste the milk still on her.

She sat up and ground on him, looking down at him with eyes so passionate and loving. He knew she would cum soon. He loved when she came on him – he loved her.

She kept to her rhythm then sped up. Abruptly, she pushed her pelvis back and her vaginal muscles twitched, spasming in orgasm. Her breasts squirted milk all over him. She observed the result and gave a husky chuckle. Neara took her hand and rubbed the milk over his torso. Then she lay on top of him rubbing back and forth.

“I did not want to be wasteful again, so we are having a milk bath,” she explained with lustful gyration.

Data’s look made her stop her play, and Neara stared deeply into his eyes.

“I love you Neara,” Data said as he tenderly pushed some strands of hair out of Neara’s face.

Neara’s heart filled, “ _Ka'na'la La’Ma_.”

As they kissed each other in utter adoration, Tala looked on and gurgled.

Data came home and saw Neara cooking in the kitchen with Tala floating beside her. This was the preferred practice for Ahmriana because it enabled them to keep their hands free. Data preferred to hold Tala whenever he could. He greeted and kissed Neara, then held Tala and kissed her.

“I will leave this to cook. It is time for Tala to eat,” Neara announced, and they went over to the couch. Nursing Ahmriana wore tops lined with terry cloth with a slit from neck to waist which could be fastened and unfastened. Neara sat and unfastened her top and pulled it to either side exposing her breasts. She floated Tala out of Data’s arms and gave her a breast while Data retrieved bottles. He got on the couch beside Neara and pulled down her pants and started masturbating her, while at the same time sucking on her other breast and spitting the milk into a bottle. Data had told Neara her milk was more nutritious when she was sexually stimulated. She did not need a reason for it, though, and scooched down on the couch to give him better access.

When they had finished, Data put the bottles away and Neara floated Tala into his arms. She was three months old now, and Data new the exact amount of weight she gained each day and the exact growth of her body. He sat at the table and Neara dished up, and he held Tala in one arm as he ate. She looked up at him, sucking on a large ring attached to her clothing. Yara was correct, Tala did like to observe. She would quietly lay there, her eyes boring into her subject. Right now, that subject was Data.

Data was somewhat concerned Tala’s neural net growth was not equivalent to her body’s growth. It had yet to grow at all. But Neara had assured him the implant would grow as Tala grew and learned. Neara figured Tala was busy growing her body and learning how to use it. Her neural net would catch up once she had reached a sufficient state of development.

Something else that would catch up later were the gifts the crew and Neara’s family had bestowed upon her. When Neara’s family came on board to meet Tala, Leyna explained it was Ahmrian tradition to give a gift of yourself to the little one. Data and Neara’s families stood in a circle with Tala floating in the middle. Leyna told them to think of a personal attribute they felt would benefit the child, then sing and hold a note while directing this attribute into her. It reminded Data of their bonding ceremony, and Tala had also glowed Ahmrian blue with the sound. Neara said these gifts should start showing up by the time Tala was seven or eight, giving her plenty of time to develop essential skills before they set in.

After their meal, Data practiced his violin while Neara sang harmonics into their baby, making her glow that same Ahmrian blue. They danced together, Tala floating at their side watching. Then they had a family bath, Tala fascinated by the bubbles, and went to bed. Data could not be happier, even if he had scripted this life himself.


	35. Tala Toddler

Tala was three years old and was scampering around Neara as she performed the daily Riaka. She was flapping her arms in a circle, squealing as she did so. Suddenly, she tripped on her own feet and fell to the floor, her chin striking it with enough force to dislodge a tooth. It went skittering across the floor and Tala let out a wail of pain. As she cried, Neara quickly scooped up the tooth then her daughter and took her to see Dr Crusher, attempting to soothe her along the way.

Data was at his station on the bridge when his head jerked up, he swiveled out of his seat, and went to the turbolift. Picard called after him, but Data went on, oblivious.

“Worf, will you go with him?” Picard asked. “And keep me apprised. It’s never a good sign when Data starts behaving oddly.” Worf nodded and followed Data onto the turbolift.

They exited the lift, walked down the hall, and entered Sick Bay. When they got there, Worf saw Neara and Tala, the child with blood running down her chin and her face wet with tears.

“Daddy!” she howled, her arms outstretched to Data. Neara turned and saw Data standing there, looking but not seeing, with Worf behind him.

Data’s head tilted, and he came to. He saw Tala and Neara in front of him, Tala sitting on a Sick Bay bed, and went over to comfort his daughter. “How did I get here? I was just on the bridge.”

“You abruptly walked off the bridge and came here,” Worf elucidated. Then he hailed Picard to inform him of the situation.

“Tala must have activated my homing chip,” he surmised. Tala wrapped her arms around Data’s waist and buried her face in his stomach as he comfortingly caressed her back.

“I thought you had deactivated that chip,” Neara said.

Data gave his head a slight shake. “I thought so too. Apparently, Tala can reactivate it.”

“You will need to make a stronger defense, or perhaps remove it,” Neara advised.

“A wise precaution,” Data agreed.

Crusher returned with the tooth and an instrument to replace it, and with some gentle prodding, Data got Tala to cooperate with her. Tooth successfully reinserted, Tala wrapped herself around Data and he carried her back to their quarters.

Tala’s neural net had started growing six months ago. But now, it was growing rapidly. If this growth meant she could access his programming or manipulate his systems, Data would have to ensure very strict safeguards indeed.

Data watched as Tala stumbled again. She was stumbling much more frequently and Data was concerned. Tala’s neural net was growing into the motor coordination area of her brain, but Dr Crusher assured him she just needed time to learn and adjust. She reminded him he had to learn ambulatory skills when he was first activated, and this part of Tala would need to as well.

But it still troubled him. If she was learning, then why was she stumbling more? Surely it should be less as time went on. He had initially been concerned about her neural net not growing, but now he was concerned with how fast it was growing. It had doubled in size over the last three weeks. That rate was undoubtedly unsustainable. But he was not sure what to do other than wait to see if the rate soon slowed. An emotion of anxiousness dogged him. It was times like these he realized the convenience of being emotionless. He would not change the fact he now had feelings, he just wished he could turn them off at will.

Neara returned home from duty and greeted them happily. “Hello family!” she sang and gave them both kisses. “Do you know what you would like for dinner tonight?”

“Chocolate pancakes!” Tala cheered. Riker had made them for Tala and Thad at a recent breakfast their families had together, and Tala could not get enough.

“You had them for breakfast this morning Tala,” Data reminded. “I think you should have something else.”

“But I like chocolate pancakes Daddy. Chocolate pancakes, chocolate pancakes,” Tala chanted and scampered around the room, flailing the stuffed animal she was holding.

Neara was in the kitchen and said, “I think we will have Ahmrian pancakes with vegetables. We need to keep your ‘kana up ka’lee – you are a growing child.”

“We can put chocolate on them,” Tala said and stopped suddenly, choking, and fell to the floor. Data rushed over to her and Neara flew over.

“She is not breathing,” Data said and he picked Tala up and ran with her, Neara flying in front, to Sick Bay. He applied CPR as he ran, Tala’s little limp body not responding.

Crusher and her team worked on her immediately, but to no avail. Tala had to be placed on a ventilator. A scan of her brain showed a branch of her neural net had traveled into her brain stem, hampering the autonomic nerve function of her respiratory system.

Crusher asked, “Neara, can you make a psi doorway to take us to Donaerua?”

“We just came back from Ahmria yesterday. I do not have the energy to do it safely, but I must try,” Neara declared and took in a breath to begin the process.

Crusher laid a hand on her forearm. “That won’t be necessary Neara. We don’t want to do anything risky.” She tapped her badge and hailed, “Crusher to Picard. We have a medical emergency. We need to get to Donaerua immediately.”

“Of course Doctor,” Picard responded, and set a course for the planet at warp nine. “I’m going to Sick Bay to see what’s happened. You have the bridge Number One.”

Crusher explained to Neara and Data what had happened and said, “We need to get to Donaerua so I can use the device to remove the errant strand. Then we need to place some kind of shunt to ensure the neural net doesn’t grow anywhere it shouldn’t.”

Data and Neara looked worried. “Will she be OK Doctor?” Data asked.

“We have no time to waste. The growth is unpredictable and very fast. But hopefully, with Tala being in this state, it will have stalled the progression,” Crusher responded.

Crusher went back to monitoring her patient, and Picard entered Sick Bay. He saw Tala on the ventilator and nodded gravely to Neara and Data. He went over to Crusher and she informed him of the situation.

Riker hailed him, “Admiral Haftel wishes to speak to you about your sudden course deviation.”

“Of course he does,” Picard muttered. In a silent exchange, he raised his eyebrows in question to Crusher and she nodded her acceptance.

“Transfer him to Dr Crusher’s office. I’ll take the call there,” he sighed and walked to the office. Picard took a seat and opened the channel.

“Admiral, I…,” Picard started and was cut off.

“Why aren’t you on your way to the Suponia moon?” Haftel barked. “The Cardassians will be there in twelve hours, and the colonists are rightfully worried. They’ve made it clear they see this colony as an invasion into their territory. We need a Federation presence to keep the peace until this issue can be hammered out.”

“We’ve had a medical emergency and need to reroute to Donaerua. Surely there is another vessel that could take our place?” Picard questioned.

“The next closest vessel would take fourteen hours to reach them. Just drop your patient off at the medical facility on Starbase 24 on the way,” Haftel instructed.

“But we need the specialized equipment on Donaerua. I’m afraid there’s no alternative,” Picard stated.

“Donaerua… isn’t that the planet Data went to to get expert help with his neural net? Are you saying this medical emergency is Data?” Haftel interrogated.

“It is a matter of life and death,” Picard obfuscated.

“Surely not Picard. I can’t imagine Data will cease to function if he doesn’t get to Donaerua. Just turn him off until we can get another ship to spell you at the Suponia moon, which won’t take long – then you can take him there,” Haftel reasoned.

Picard was forced to admit, “It isn’t for Data. It’s for his daughter.”

There was a pregnant silence on the line as Haftel’s ire grew. “What have you done?” he asked menacingly.

“I take complete responsibility…” Picard began and was interrupted by the wave of Haftel’s hand.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. Take the child to get help, and then I expect you, Commander Data, and the rest of your senior officers to attend a tribunal to determine who knew what when and the punishment for pursuing Borg technology,” Haftel commanded. “We’ll also need to determine whether the girl would be better off placed under our watch. We’ll expect you to attend this tribunal as soon as Data’s daughter is in stable condition. Haftel out.”

There had been no way around it – Picard had no option but to tell the Admiral about Tala. He desperately wished this secret had never been revealed. At least if it could have waited until the child was grown, then there wouldn’t be this added complication. Now, not only would he have to fight for his career and the careers of his officers, but also the right for Tala to remain with her family. One of whom knowingly disobeyed Federation regulations.

This was going to be an uphill battle, but the fact these regulations denied Data the right to have his own family was patently wrong. That was why Picard had helped him in the first place. This was a time to stand up for what was morally correct, and he would not back down from the fight.

Picard gathered the senior staff in the conference room, minus Data who remained in Sick Bay, and informed them Tala’s secret was out, resulting in a tribunal.

“Data and I are prepared to take full responsibility and deny any of your involvement or knowledge,” Picard stated.

“Thank you for that Captain, but I’ll stand with Data,” Riker affirmed. “The Federation regulations are wrong in this case. They’re clearly discriminating against the fact Data isn’t a biological being.”

Crusher agreed, “I realize Data is unique, but they should have added a provision to encompass his reproduction with a biological being as medically necessary. Or at least, at this point, they should do it retroactively. I have no regrets helping Data and Neara with their reproduction. As a matter of fact, I’m very proud I was able to help them. I plan to let the tribunal know this.”

“I’m with Doctor Crusher on this one,” Geordi agreed. “They should retroactively add a provision for Data’s sake. Of course I’ll be standing up for Data. He’s so happy he has a child. How could anyone see that as wrong?”

“The Federation is acting out of fear of the unknown, and that’s never a good place to make decisions from,” Troi said. “I want to be there to help guide them through their insecurities and make them understand this is simply a child with her two loving parents. There’s nothing to fear. I’m going to stand with Data.”

“It would be unimaginable if the Federation were to disallow a Klingon to have children with their mate. I will stand with Data,” Worf confirmed.

Picard nodded and smiled. “I knew I had the finest crew in the fleet, but without a doubt I can say, you are the finest people I have ever known. You show the highest moral character, and I am honored, as I know Data is, by your support. Let’s spend some time getting our arguments ready for the tribunal.”

It took the Enterprise six hours to reach Donaerua, and Data’s family and Crusher immediately beamed down. Crusher went to work right away removing Tala’s errant strand while Soong figured out the shunt material and how they would function. Crusher finished, and Tala was removed from the ventilator but was still unconscious. Soong discussed the shunts with Crusher, who went about creating them in Tala’s brain. They were observing her scan with satisfaction.

“Was it successful? Will Tala be alright now?” Data asked.

“It went very well. I believe she’ll be doing great,” Crusher answered. Data and Neara hugged with joy and Neara shed some tears. She went over to Crusher and hugged her, then hugged Soong.

“Now that the Federation knows about Tala, I suppose I’ll be forced to leave this planet. And I was just getting used to it,” Soong lamented.

“It would be a prudent course of action,” Data agreed.

“We’ll wait for Tala to wake up and then check to make certain everything’s OK. Then we can get back to the Enterprise,” Crusher informed.

Crusher and Soong went over to the couches to sit and have some tea. Neara and Data were standing beside their sleeping daughter, touching her arm.

“I do not wish to be parted,” Neara told Data. Neara and Tala would be dropped off on an Ahmrian portal planet before Data and the rest went to Earth for the tribunal. “Why not come to Ahmria and forget the tribunal? All of your family can come as well. You can all leave Starfleet and live happy lives on Ahmria.”

“I do not believe they want to give up their careers with Starfleet. I do not wish to give up my career either, although I may have to,” Data said. “I need to stand by my family, as they have stood by us. I need to convince the tribunal they were only trying to help me, and that any punishment they wish to mete out for breaking the regulation should fall on me and me alone.”

“But no one should be punished for this, ka’lee,” Neara said and touched his cheek.

“We will do our best to convince them of that,” Data replied.

“Even though I will not physically be there, I will be there, watching over you,” Neara informed. “I will bring you home, if I have to. I will bring you all to Ahmria if I have to.”

“Let us hope that will not be necessary,” and Data kissed her tenderly.


	36. Tribunal

They had made their way to Earth and now Picard, Riker, Data, Geordi, Worf, Troi, and Crusher stood in a line in the courtroom’s dock. The six adjudicators filed in taking seats, facing the crew. Haftel was one of them.

He began, “The Federation has strict regulations on the development of Borg technologies. We understand Commander Data’s daughter was created by the union of biological and artificial life, in blatant disregard of these regulations. We’ve assembled this tribunal to determine which parties were involved in or assisted this act, what punishment will be delivered for said actions, and the best placement for the resultant child. Admiral Sanchez will start the questioning.”

She cleared her throat, “I’m disappointed you didn’t come to the Federation first, Commander Data. We could have discussed this regulation – perhaps figured something out. But now you’ve broken the law, and it’s an entirely different matter. Who helped you create your child Commander?”

“It is not my place to inform you of this. If they wish to let you know of their abilities, they will have to do so themselves,” Data replied.

“I helped,” piped in Crusher, “and I’m glad I did. It’s something I’m extremely proud of and would do again. I have no regrets. I’m happy I was able to help Commander Data create a family.”

Admiral Lightfoot looked up from her notes and asked Crusher, “Did you perform the procedure by yourself?”

“I did do the procedure myself,” Crusher affirmed, hoping to protect Soong.

“But yet you took the girl to Donaerua for specialized equipment, which I imagine was used in the original procedure,” Haftel surmised. “Who made that equipment?”

“I have the same answer as Commander Data,” Crusher replied. “If this person wishes you to know, they’ll have to let you know themselves.”

The six adjudicators had a hushed exchange, probably making plans to send a ship out to see if Soong was still on Donaerua, the group surmised.

Admiral Entebbe took the next question, his deep voice filling the room. “If you can’t give us that name, then surely, Commander Data, you can tell us who else in the crew knew of your plans?”

“I am accepting full responsibility for my actions. Any punishment you wish to mete out should be applied to me and me alone,” Data responded.

Admiral Igawa spoke, “That didn’t answer his question.” She shook her head, “It’s unfortunate you’re choosing to obstruct us Commander. Captain Picard, you took Commander Data to Donaerua three years ago. Were you aware at that time of his plan to create his daughter by combining biological and artificial life?”

“Yes I was. I believe it is unjust to deny…” Picard was interrupted by Haftel.

“You will answer the questions only. You’ll have a chance to make your case later in the hearing,” he instructed.

“Will you please, one at a time, state if you were aware of Commander Data’s plans to create a child using Borg technology,” Admiral Randers requested. The crew, each in turn, answered in the affirmative. He made a moue of concern, and the adjudicators again had a hushed conversation.

Admiral Sanchez asked, “Since you were all aware of Commander Data’s plans, why did none of you come forward with that information?”

Riker answered her. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say, he’s our friend. And he’s wanted a child for so long. Data wanted a child with his wife, and we didn’t see any reason he shouldn’t have that. He can’t help he’s an artificial life form in love with a biological one. We all feel the regulation is wrong. There should at least be a provision for his situation.”

Admiral Entebbe addressed Data, “Why didn’t you speak to the Federation about modifying the regulation before embarking on this reckless venture and dragging your crew mates along with you?”

“In analyzing the probability of you agreeing to my request, I calculated a ninety-eight percent chance you would not agree,” Data explained. “My wife and I did not want to risk the Federation attempting to prevent the creation of our child.”

A door opened, and Picard let out a surprised, “Guinan!” and the adjudicators all turned to look.

Guinan walked up to them and said, “The Ahmriana people requested I come here to represent their interests, seeing as Commander Data’s daughter is half Ahmriana. They’re unfamiliar with Federation legal precedent, but I have some experience and offered to help.”

“Of course,” Haftel acknowledged and indicated for her to take a seat at the side of the room.

Admiral Igawa questioned, “Will each of you let the court know what you did to assist Commander Data in the creation of his daughter? Outside of Captain Picard taking him to Donaerua and Dr Crusher performing the procedure.”

Picard spoke for his crew, “Commander Data let us know of his intentions before acting on them, and we all agreed to help in any way we could and to keep his confidence. Except for Dr Crusher and myself, my crew did nothing more than this.”

There was a silence, then Haftel asked the adjudicators, “Any further questions?” They shook their heads. “Alright, you may now make your statements,” he told the crew.

They made their arguments against acting out of fear, the need for the regulation to be changed for Data, the right Data should have to procreate with his mate. The adjudicators appeared unmoved. Again, they spoke with each other in hushed tones.

“We will adjourn to decide on the punishment for your actions, but before we do, we would like to discuss the placement of the child. Given her nature, we feel it would be better if she were placed in Federation care, so we can watch over her and ensure she develops properly – without incident,” Haftel announced. “We would like for you, Commander Data, and the Ahmriana people,” he said nodding to Guinan, “to hand her over willingly.”

“That is outrageous!” came Picard’s sudden outburst. “You can’t expect them to hand their child over to the state!”

“We can and we do Captain,” Haftel stated.

“I cannot allow that,” Data said. “You are welcome to monitor her progress, but my wife and I will be the ones raising her.”

“You’ll have a hard time raising her from prison, Commander,” Haftel noted.

“Her mother is Ahmriana. Surely the Federation isn’t willing to cause an incident with the Ahmriana people?” Picard exclaimed.

“I don’t think there will be any incident,” Haftel reasoned. “The Ahmriana are peaceful. They don’t have any war ships or offensive weapons. I’m certain they’ll understand the need for our watching over the child.”

“I’d like to speak if I may,” Guinan stated and Haftel nodded his acceptance. “The Ahmriana were concerned something like this might happen, and that’s why they sent me. They would like you to reverse your position. The crew will go unpunished and keep their posts, you will add a provision for Commander Data to your regulation, and the child Tala will remain with her parents.”

The adjudicators looked at each other and scoffed.

“Well, we’ll bear their wishes in mind, but I really don’t see that changing anything,” Haftel admitted. “We would appreciate if the Ahmriana just cooperated with this matter. Commander Data broke the law, his crew mates aided and abetted him, and his daughter needs supervision to ensure she develops properly. I can’t see any way around it.”

“I’m trying to give you a chance to make the right decision,” Guinan entreated.

“I believe we are making the right decision,” Haftel affirmed.

“You know the child poses no danger. And Data and Neara Na Soonga just wanted to make a family. This isn’t a crime. Put yourself in their position,” Guinan pushed.

“I would like to think if I were in their position I wouldn’t break the law. We are a society of rules, after all, and there are consequences for breaking those rules. Data and his enablers will be punished, and for her own safety, we will watch over the child. Please request the Ahmriana bring her to us,” Haftel said resolutely.

“You really don’t want to do that,” Guinan warned. “You have no idea the forces you’re dealing with.”

“What? Are they going to sing something I don’t like?” Haftel joked and the other adjudicators laughed.

“They’ll do this,” Guinan said, and the ground rumbled and shook under their feet, everyone grabbing furniture to steady themselves.

“They can take out important infrastructure,” and Guinan pointed out the window. A large antenna at the top of a building melted away.

“They can take down any fleet,” Guinan indicated a passing shuttle, and it suddenly dropped twenty meters, almost hitting the ground.

“They can make tsunamis wash away coastal cities. They can make volcanoes blow, turning the sky to ash. They can kill off crops. They can kill every living thing on this planet. They can even choose to kill specific individuals,” Guinan informed and Haftel started choking. He doubled over in his chair, pulling his collar away from his throat, trying to take in air with no success. Suddenly, he was able to breathe again, gulping in deep breaths.

“So you see, they don’t need to be here to make their displeasure known. They can be your best ally or your worst enemy. I think, for the sake of the Federation, it’s in your best interests to reverse your position, and instead, go with what the Ahmriana suggest. You know in your heart of hearts no harm was done here. There are only two beings who love each other who made a child together,” Guinan concluded.

Admiral Entebbe had his hand on Haftel, checking he was OK.

“It seems the Ahmriana have a very good point,” Lightfoot said. “Perhaps we are being too presumptive. Commander Data and his wife have not harmed anyone, and perhaps we are being too proactive with the child. I think we should just monitor her development.”

“Yes, she’s probably better off remaining with her family,” Igawa agreed. “The less trauma on her the better. So we should leave things as they are and let them get back to normal. For her sake.”

“The Ahmriana have made an excellent argument, and I believe we should follow their recommendations,” Sanchez backpedaled.

“We can easily add a provision to the regulation applying to Data and have it come into effect retroactively. That way this hearing will be null and void,” Randers suggested.

“I must concur with the other adjudicators,” Entebbe said. “We should follow the Ahmriana recommendations. Seeing what they are capable of, we need them as our allies more than ever. If or when the Borg find Earth, we will need their help. And who knows what Commander Data’s child, being both biological and artificial, will teach us?”

“Alright then,” Admiral Haftel conceded, “we’ll add a provision for Commander Data to the regulation and have it apply retroactively. This tribunal is null and void. You are free to go.”


	37. Meeting Mom

[Author’s note: In my version Data’s mom is human and not an android.]

It had been five months since the tribunal, during which time Tala’s nature had been discovered by the scientific community, prompting much interest. On several occasions, scientists in various fields had come to examine Tala. For a three-year-old child, she had sat with impressive patience while they scanned her and discussed amongst themselves.

Today, another scientist boarded the Enterprise in order to meet her, and also to meet Data. Her name was Juliana Tainer and she said she had some things to discuss, so Data met her in Ten Forward. She asked if he recognized her, then told him she was his mother. She had been married to Dr Soong and fled with him in an escape pod before the crystalline entity struck. Eventually she left Soong, because his work meant more to him than she did. She hadn’t tried to contact Data before because she felt guilty. They had lost so many other children before creating Lore, then Lore’s immoral behavior meant he had to be deactivated. She was afraid the same thing would happen to Data and she couldn’t face losing another child. In her fear of this outcome – of this potential pain, she made Soong leave him on the planet. She was hoping Data would forgive her and let her into his life. She was hoping to get to know Tala – to get to know him and his family.

Data was uncertain if he wanted to proceed, so he did some research into her story. It all checked out. She was apparently the doctoral student Altan had mentioned. He spoke with Geordi about it, “That's life Data. Part of being human is learning to deal with the unexpected – to risk new experiences.”

Then he spoke with Neara. She felt if he could forgive Lore, then surely he could forgive his mother her weakness. She felt it was worth the risk to let his mother prove herself to him – to be the loving mother she should have been. And it would also be good to learn more about his past.

Given their encouragement, Data decided to get to know his mother. He went for a walk with her in the arboretum, and she talked about his early days and asked him about his life and his family. They sat on a bench and talked until dinner time. Data decided to let her meet Neara and Tala.

“Would you like to have dinner with us tonight?” he asked.

Juliana’s smile was beaming, “I’d love to Data. Thank you.”

They went to Data’s quarters where they found Neara and Tala on the floor playing with toys. When they entered, Tala shot up.

“Daddy!” she yelled, running to Data with her arms outstretched. He lifted her up and held her and they kissed, her arms clinging to his neck.

Neara floated up and walked over. “I see you bring company ka’lee,” she said, giving him a kiss.

“Neara, Tala, this is Juliana Tainer, my mother.” He looked at Tala, “Your grandmother.”

“But I thought you only had a daddy,” Tala said in confusion.

“I thought so too. But I found out today, I also have a mother,” Data confirmed.

“It is wonderful to meet you,” Neara said, coming over and giving her the Ahmrian greeting.

Juliana was a little taken aback by it, but smiled warmly. “Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. And you too Tala,” she said, extending a hand to the child.

Tala leaned over and also gave the Ahmrian greeting. Juliana laughed delightedly.

They sat in the living area and talked, Tala sitting on Data’s lap playing with her stuffed animals, Spot on Neara’s lap getting strokes. Juliana looked over at the side table with pictures on it and a painting above it of a beautiful female.

“Are all those people your family?” she asked Neara

“All but the painting. That is Data’s daughter Lal,” Neara answered.

“Data’s daughter…” Juliana looked at Data, “You made a sentient android? I’d love to meet her. Where is she now?”

“She suffered cascade failure of her neural net and only lived a few weeks,” Data replied.

Juliana looked pained, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“But Daddy has all her memories and he’s told me all about my sister,” Tala chimed in, still playing with her animals. “She was smart, and she loved Daddy too, and she was really pretty, see?” She scampered over to the painting and pointed at it using her stuffed animal. “Maybe he’ll make me another sister, or Mommy could do it.”

“Thank you for allowing me that honor Tala,” Neara kidded. “But I have told you and your father I will not make you a sibling until we are living on a planet. I do not want to raise another child on a starship – biological _or_ artificial.”

“I imagine it’s difficult, not having your family close by,” Juliana said sympathetically.

“We see them regularly, but I would prefer to be on Ahmria,” Neara confirmed. “I told Data he has until Tala is fifteen, then we will move there. Ahmriana typically have children between their mid thirties to their mid fifties, so I will have another child once we get there. And Data can make as many children as he wishes. I am certain with Ahmriana help, they will all survive. This is my compromise for him, seeing as he enjoys traveling the stars so.”

“It looks like you’ll have to wait for that sister Tala,” Juliana laughed.

“I know,” Tala sighed and slumped onto the couch.

They moved on to other subjects, and eventually Neara got up and started dinner. She was making Ahmrian food for Data’s mother to try. She left things to cook and came over to the little group.

“If you do not mind, I would like some moments alone with Data,” Neara requested. Juliana nodded her acceptance, and Neara reached out her hand to Data. He took it and got up, following Neara to the bedroom.

“Tala, please take care of your grandmother for us,” Neara called over her shoulder.

“I will Mommy,” Tala agreed. “What would you like to play?” she asked Juliana.

“Whatever you’d like to play Tala,” she assented.

“Mommy and Daddy will only make love for twenty or thirty minutes before dinner, so we don’t have long enough for a long game. Maybe we can play Go Fish,” Tala suggested.

Juliana wasn’t certain which to be more surprised about – the fact Tala knew her parents were making love, or the fact she could tell time.

Twenty-eight minutes passed, and Neara and Data emerged. Data had changed out of his uniform into, what Juliana assumed to be, Ahmrian clothing. They sat at the table and had a wonderful meal with lots of joy, stories, and laughter.

After dinner, Tala wanted Juliana to watch Data and Neara’s wedding video. Crusher had recorded the bonding ceremony and the dancing, also the wedding ceremony and the wedding gift-giving. It was lovely, and Juliana felt a pang in her heart that she hadn’t been there.

Afterwards, Neara got everybody up to dance, saying it was an Ahmrian tradition. Juliana was surprised as Tala floated off the floor until her head was level with her own. She knew Ahmriana could fly, she just didn’t realize it happened so soon. The group started dancing together.

Data informed Juliana that Tala was not levitating on her own, but that Neara was doing it, and she could do the same for her if she desired. Juliana declined, being concerned she might suffer vertigo. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, and she didn’t want to lose her dinner.

There were times Data and Neara danced with each other, moving smoothly and beautifully together. Juliana’s heart filled with joy to see her son so happy. He had made a wonderful life for himself. He had a lovely family and was doing work that was challenging and he enjoyed. She only wished she hadn’t left him on Omicron Theta. She missed so much time with him. She would do her best to make up for that mistake.

The dancing finally stopped and Data said, “You should get ready for bed Tala. You are up well past your bedtime.”

“OK Daddy. Can Grandma stay with us?” she asked.

“She has her own quarters and would probably be more comfortable there,” Data informed.

“I would like to stay, if that’s alright with you,” Juliana proposed. “I meant what I said about getting to know you and your family.”

Neara instructed, “Tala, your Grandmother will need to stay in your bed and you will need to sleep on the floor. Will you be OK with that?”

“Yes!” Tala exclaimed and raced into her room. Neara went in after her to help her get ready. Tala walked out purposefully with two pillows dragging across the floor, one in each hand. One was a big stuffed animal face and the other was a normal pillow.

“Which pillow do you want Grandma?” she questioned.

“Just the regular pillow will be fine Tala, thank you,” Juliana responded, and Tala skipped back into the room.

“You have made a little child very happy… Mother,” Data said hesitantly.

Juliana smiled warmly, “Oh Data, all of you have made me very happy. You’ve been so welcoming and kind – it’s more than I could have expected. More than I have any right to expect.”

Neara walked out and said, “We must allow others to make up for their mistakes. It is what we would hope they would do for us.” She gave Juliana a hug and pulled Data into it. The three were standing together hugging when Tala came out and wrapped her arms around Data and Juliana’s legs. Juliana couldn’t help it, a tear of joy escaped and ran down her cheek.

When they released, they accompanied Tala to her room. She had a foam chair that extended into a bed laying on the floor. Neara explained that Tala’s friend Thad used it when he slept over. Tala got in, lying her tiny head on the big stuffed animal face, and pulled the blanket over her.

“Would you like Vahtee to read you a story before bed ka’leetee?” Neara asked.

“Would you read me a story Grandma?” Tala requested.

“Of course. I’d be delighted Tala,” Juliana agreed and sat on the bed. Data brought her a book.

“We will leave you two now,” Neara announced, and she and Data gave Tala a kiss and wished them goodnight.

Tala pointed at the book, “I know all that story, but I like to hear Daddy read it.”

“Has he read it to you a lot?” Juliana questioned.

“Three times,” she responded. “But I only have to hear it once to remember it.”

“Really. So you remember what I just asked?” Juliana was curious.

“’Has he read it to you a lot,’” she repeated.

“And what did I say before that?” Juliana wondered.

“’Of course. I’d be delighted Tala,’” she quoted.

Juliana flipped to a random page in the book, “And what is the line after this one? ‘And following the setting sun’…”

“The stars came out, one by one,” Tala recalled. “The sky glittered with their light, and to the world they bid goodnight. But some creatures did awake, the evening world they did retake…”

Juliana interrupted her, “That’s amazing Tala. How far back can you remember things?”

“I can remember everything since before I was born,” Tala said plainly. “I remember Mommy and Daddy singing and talking to me. I remember being in Mommy and it being crowded and dark. Then Mommy told me, ‘There is not room enough in me for both you and my organs. It is time for you to make your entrance into the universe,’ so I did. Then I remember being squeezed out, and the bright light and seeing Auntie Beverly. Then I saw Daddy.”

“That is incredible Tala,” Juliana was gobsmacked.

“Will you read me the book now?” Tala asked.

“Yes, of course… sorry Tala,” and Juliana started reading.

Tala fell to sleep quickly, and Juliana got up to get a drink of water before bed. She heard Neara and Data having sex. It seemed the sexuality programming she and Noonian added was working out well. She had wanted their child to have every human experience possible, including having a creative aspect. During their talk in the arboretum, Data had told her of his violin playing and painting. He had also told her he was experiencing emotions since Neara came into his life. She wondered if it was a combination of these aspects that allowed his emotional development to flourish, with Neara being the catalyst. She supposed she would probably never know but was happy it had happened, however it had happened.

Juliana stayed for three days, and Data took the time off to be with her. She hoped, now that they knew each other, Data and his family would come to visit. Data assured her they would, and Neara assured her they would keep in regular touch. They escorted her to the transporter room and hugged and kissed her goodbye. As she beamed away, she saw Neara and Tala waving and Data smiling, holding his child. How marvelous.


	38. Tala Child

Tala insisted upon celebrating Spot’s birthday on the same day as her own. Neara floated Tala up and she sprinkled catnip and treats all along Spot’s ceiling ledge.

“I think that is enough catnip Tala. We do not want Spot to fall off the ledge in a daze,” Neara advised.

“Alright Mommy,” Tala agreed.

Tala had made a card for Spot wishing her a happy eleventh birthday. Data had made one, ostensibly coming from Spot, wishing her a happy seventh birthday.

Tala and her best friend Thad and some other children would play in the anti-gravity chamber, then go to the arboretum for a picnic and cake. Neara could, of course, float them, but she wanted the time alone with Data. There was adult supervision of the anti-gravity chamber, so she knew they were in good hands.

Tala and her friends had a wonderful time together, as they always did. One time her class got to tour the bridge, and Data let her sit at his station. She did some quick programming and made the view screen display a virtual aquarium. The children were delighted.

After Tala’s birthday celebration, Neara, Data, and Tala went to Ahmria to spend time with family. Spot joined them like she normally did, happily trotting into her carrier for the trip over, and unhappily being found and floated into her carrier for the trip back.

In the seven years since Tala’s birth, Erda had given birth to two children. Beya was four years old and Reysa was one. They both had Erda’s dark indigo skin coloring, but Beya had gold hair, like Pata, and Reysa had raven black hair, like Yara.

Beya had a speech impediment which Data found fascinating. When she spoke, she occasionally made a _brrrr_ noise, sounding many notes at once. She was slowly growing out of it, but Data found he missed hearing it.

Reysa was unique among Ahmriana, being so dark. His eyes stood out like beacons, which were especially prominent at night. Just as the Ahmriana were captivated by Beverly’s red hair, they seemed equally captivated by Reysa. He got a lot of cooing attention.

Even though Data’s family knew about Neara’s Weaver abilities, they instructed both his family and Tala not to let any other people know – especially children. So Tala could neither tell nor invite Thad on their trips to Ahmria. She had been good and kept the secret, but Thad was her best friend and she desperately wanted to tell him. It helped that her cousins were there.

They stayed for a week on Ahmria and Tala got to sleep over with Beya. Beya was in Seyta’s old room. Seyta followed Ahmrian custom and moved into a communal home with several other Ahmriana in their twenties. If a ka’sha connection formed, then the ka’sha would move back to one of their respective familial homes. At the moment, there was still a room available if Seyta wished to return.

At noon, they preformed the daily Riaka. All the family was out in the Ahta clearing, their legs folded under them, making the circles, taking their breaths, and singing. All except Beya and Reysa, who lacked the vocal control, not to mention the attention span, to join in. They were running around the group, flapping their arms in a circle and squealing, just as Tala had done at their age. But now Tala was singing and Data could feel the vibration she made, albeit not nearly as strong as the adults.

A while back, Data had learned the Riaka so he could join in. Although he had adjusted his voice box and could sing many of the notes, he knew he was not able to vibrate them as strongly as the Ahmriana could. Neara assured him, even though this was the case, his contribution was still helpful to the universe.

Every day for the past year, Neara had made Tala remain with her after the Riaka. They would stay in their seated position, and Neara would draw her hands in a circle from the top of Tala’s head to the ground while intoning. She would go around her making the circles, creating a ball around Tala. Neara explained she was constructing a protective sphere like the one she had. She said she wanted to make it very strong, and it would take a few years to do. Data noted none of the other Ahmriana did this, but Neara said none of the other Ahmriana were on starships – they had virtually no risks on Ahmria. She felt their child should have this added protection.

During their visit, they went to Lake Anansa where Tala played the telekinesis game with other children, moving a ball quickly over the surface of the water while another child tried to catch it. Data watched and noted Tala seemed to be at the same level of proficiency as other children of her age.

As a birthday present, Data painted Tala and the other children to look like various animals on the planet, which of course, they then pretended to be. Neara laughed with joy, because the group made quite a menagerie.

When they returned to the Enterprise, Tala’s first bestowed gift arrived. She suddenly wanted to learn Klingon and rapidly mastered the language, her neural net having grown into the communication area of her brain. She spent hours on her computer learning about the culture. She was practicing the Mok'bara when Neara pulled Data aside.

“Worf’s gift has arrived. You must speak to him and have him help her develop it,” Neara instructed.

“I will talk to him,” Data assured, and did so when he saw him on the bridge. Worf agreed he would come by and start Tala’s tutelage.

Once off duty, he came to Data’s quarters and Tala greeted him, speaking in perfect Klingon. Worf was visibly surprised, and answered her in Klingon.

“Tala has been practicing and wishes to learn the Mok'bara,” Data informed.

“I want to be a warrior,” she said.

“I see,” Worf observed. “It will take many years of discipline and practice. If you are willing to put in the effort, I am willing to teach you.”

“I am willing. When can we start?” she asked with anticipation.

“I will take you to the holodeck and program a beginning level combat scenario. The best way to learn is through experience. I can observe your strengths and weaknesses, and we can work from there,” Worf explained.

“You must be careful with our daughter Worf,” Neara cautioned. “It took us much to make her, we would not want anything to happen to her.”

“I will watch after her. She will not be harmed,” Worf vowed, and they left so Tala could go out and experience her first of many gifts.


	39. The Borg

Neara and Tala had gone to Ahmria to celebrate Reysa’s second birthday. She planned to go back later in the day and fetch Data after he was off duty, so she had created a doorway in his work room and sang to hide it, as she would with a permanent doorway. She did this whenever they would not be staying on Ahmria long enough for her to recover.

It was time to get him, and when she walked through the portal onto the ship, she felt something was wrong. She went out into the hallway and saw a Borg passing at the far intersection. She floated silently, sending her psi wave out, feeling for Data. He was on the ship. She felt Picard close.

She turned a corner and he was there in front of her. He saw her and she quietly spoke. “I knew something was wrong when I came through the doorway to get Data. Where is he?”

“As I’m certain you’re aware, the Borg have captured the ship,” Picard somberly enlightened. “I’ve sent the crew off, but the Borg have taken Data hostage. He’s up there behind the bulkhead. I need to try and save him.”

“I will go to Ahmria and get reinforcements. I will be back shortly,” Neara informed and quickly flew to the portal. When Leyna came through to Dessa, Neara told her of the situation then immediately returned to the ship and Data.

She flew past Picard and went to the bulkhead door. Her protective sphere activated and she sang, vibrating the molecules in the door until they faded, and she floated through. Picard watched the door instantly return to its solid state after she entered – no chance for him to follow.

Neara arrived to see Data strapped to a table, skin grafted onto his arm, the Borg queen standing beside him.

The Borg queen looked up and spoke, “And who might you be? You’re a glorious creature.” She considered a moment, realization dawning on her. “Why, it’s you… Many Eyes.”

Data craned his head back to see and said in surprise and concern, “Neara…”

Neara was in Weaver mode, her eyes blue ice. She spoke in a many-layered harmonic, “Let him go.” Borg were approaching her.

The Borg queen signaled them to stop. “We have no problem doing that. All we ask is that you agree to join us. We’ve missed you Many Eyes – we’ve been looking for you.”

She walked slowly over to Neara and stood in front of her, “You are magnificent.” She went to touch the bubble and pulled her hand away at the shock.

“You need to leave the ship. Please take the shuttle crafts and go,” Neara instructed.

The Borg queen walked back over to Data and trailed her hand up his leg as she walked toward his head. “He means something to you, doesn’t he?” She looked at Data’s face, then at Neara.

“I do not wish to harm you. You need to leave,” Neara informed.

“We don’t want to leave. We want you to join us. You can both join us,” the Borg queen proffered.

“Please, I beg you – you must go. Please be satisfied with the Borg you have now and leave us,” Neara entreated.

“Perhaps if you stay with us… become one of us… you’ll decide you want to be with us,” the Borg queen considered. She seemed to weigh her decision, and then she nodded to the Borg. They approached Neara, surrounding her.

“You do not want to do this,” Neara said and started singing at a Borg. It grabbed its chest and collapsed. She did it to two more who collapsed, then the Borg adjusted their shielding so her frequency could not get through. She adjusted again and more Borg collapsed, but more kept coming at her.

Neara did not want to intone at all of them at once – she did not wish to kill them all. She kept changing her vibrations, hoping with their mounting deaths the Borg queen would finally submit and leave. Instead, the Borg eventually adjusted their shielding so the harmonic was reflected off, and they came at her in force. They could not get through her sphere, but were working out how they could do it. Neara knew ultimately they would get through. Her sphere was not anywhere near as powerful as Ahmria’s, which was created and added to over aeons. Hers was a veritable shell in comparison. She also was weak from creating the doorway earlier in the day, so her sphere lacked strength. She needed to figure out how to get inside their shielding, which she could do with some time, but she was afraid it would take longer than she could afford.

“Please stop,” she begged. Data was looking at her with wide, worried eyes. She had no other option.

She grabbed up the first Borg, floating and pulling it towards her. She wrenched open its mouth and brought it close to her open mouth. She sucked in deeply. The Borg’s life energy faded from its body and it collapsed dead, hanging limply in her gathered fist.

She released, and it dropped to the floor. She picked up another one, doing the same thing.

She kept grabbing up Borg, sucking their life energy, becoming frenzied with the rush. She began to glow Ahmrian blue, the blue deepening with each life she took. The Borg queen looked on horrified.

“Stop!” she commanded her. She had all the Borg army rush Neara at once. But with each life she drained, Neara’s bubble was getting stronger – her state more frenzied. Her eyes were wide and wild. Blue lightning was flashing in her sphere, her hair floating as if in water. She started letting out a many-layered hum of satisfaction as the energy charged her.

Data watched in stunned silence. She was magnificent, and horrifying. It reminded him of the Hindu goddess of destruction Kali, terrifying and beautiful at the same time. One corner of his mind wondered if a Weaver had ever been to ancient India.

He heard Leyna’s voice outside the door, pounding and yelling for Neara to stop.

The Borg queen came up to Neara, “We’ll leave – just stop. We’ll leave.” When that had no effect, she went to Data, grabbing up a phaser and placing it against his head.

“I’ll kill him,” she threatened.

Neara dropped the dead Borg she was holding and used telekinesis to fly the phaser out of the Borg queen’s hand. Then she floated her over while the Borg queen screamed, “No! No!!” and struggled to free herself.

Neara grabbed her and pulled her close, the Borg queen attempting to rend Neara’s hand from her body. Data noted it had no effect, her hand slipping uselessly off Neara’s sphere.

She pulled the Borg queen’s mouth open, a look of feral anticipation in her eyes, and sucked deeply. Her hum of satisfaction was deafening. She sucked her so dry, the biological portion of the Borg queen’s body collapsed in upon itself, the red light draining from her eyes.

Neara dropped her to the floor, tilted her head back, and breathed in. She looked at the few Borg left who were scattering and floated each and every one to her, sucking the life out of them.

Data could still hear Leyna shouting. Once the Borg queen had died and he saw the other Borg were trying to flee, Data started yelling for Neara to stop. Neither his nor Leyna’s words were getting through.

When all the Borg were dead, she looked at Data. She broke his bindings and flew him to her outstretched hand. For a moment, he thought she would kiss him. But she proceeded to pull his mouth open, sucking the life from him.

As he was fading, he could hear Leyna shouting, “Stop Neara! Stop! It’s Data – you are killing him! You are killing him!!”

He did not want to die. He knew Neara would feel a horrible agony over the fact she took his life, but he did not know how to stop her. She had taken his will and he was unable to move, so he simply looked at her and tried to communicate with his eyes that he loved her – he forgave her.

As she pulled the energy from him, he felt a soft, dreamlike floating, lifting him from his body. Then he was outside himself watching the scene. He could see what looked like an ethereal umbilical cord attaching his dimensional energy being to his body. As Neara sucked, she was pulling the energy from this cord like blood through an artery, snaking up and through his neural net into her awaiting mouth. He could see his neural net was behaving like an antenna made of magnetic energy, and his light being was attracted to and binding with it, drawing him to his body. As Neara consumed this energy, the signal was gradually fading. Eventually, it would dissipate the tether to his light being, severing the link with his body.

As the tether slowly weakened, Neara was staring into Data’s eyes. This glorious energy was making her hum in overpowering ecstasy. She drank it in deeply. It was so intoxicating… so delectable. Its heady rush was somehow familiar – the extraordinary flavor reminding her of that same exquisite taste experience before…… Suddenly she halted in recognition. She looked horrified, pained, and quickly breathed the life back into him. She immediately floated him to the table and stood over him. Her protective sphere was gone and she was no longer in her Weaver mode, although she still glowed blue.

“I am sorry Data. I am sorry,” she pleaded and stroked his face, her eyes wide with worry. “I am so sorry. Oh La’Ma, what have I done?”

Just then, the bulkhead door opened and Leyna and Picard rushed through. Picard froze, observing the carnage in the room while Leyna flew to her daughter.

She hugged her and rubbed a hand on Data’s chest, “Neara, my sweet Neara. Data, my love, are you OK?”

“Yes, I believe I will be fine. Although, I do not believe any of the Borg survived,” Data answered.

Neara looked at her mother with pained eyes, “I am so sorry.”

Leyna continued hugging her and stoking her back, “It is all over now. La’Ma is fine. I am here. There is nothing more to worry about.”

The Ahmriana handed over the Borg they had captured and went back to Ahmria. The crew returned and the remaining Borg bodies were collected. Leyna wanted Neara to come to Ahmria and stay until she was feeling better, but Neara said she wanted to remain on the ship. Data went with Leyna to fetch Tala.

He put Tala to bed and went to his bedroom to find Neara lying in the dark, only discernible by her blue glow. He moved to touch her and she pulled away saying, “No, I do not deserve your affection.” He tried talking to her, attempting to console her, but she would not listen. She was beating herself up over what she had done.

In the days that followed, things did not get better. Data was truly concerned about his wife. Neara’s guilt over his near death was pulling her into a deep depression. She was not interested in socializing with friends or family. She hardly ate and did not want to dance after meals. She did not want to visit Ahmria. She did not want to make love to Data – she barely looked at him. She only played with Tala in a subdued fashion. Otherwise, she worked quietly or slept most of the time.

Data spoke to Counselor Troi, at a loss with what to do. She suggested Neara come see her, but Neara was having none of it. She did not want to talk to her, Data, or anyone else about it – she did not want anyone’s sympathy.

He had friends stop by, but Neara would quickly excuse herself and shut herself in the dark bedroom. He could not allow this to continue. He loved Neara – he had to help her. It then dawned on him he should try a different tack.

Data came home and found Neara and Tala on the couch, both working on tablet computers. He greeted them and kissed Tala then said, “Neara, I need to see you.” She got up and followed him into the bedroom.

Data noted she was avoiding eye contact again.

“Take your clothes off,” he commanded.

Neara looked visibly surprised and faltered, “I…”

“Take your clothes off,” Data interrupted in a sharp tone.

She did so, then Data instructed, “Get into bed.” She got into the bed.

Data removed his clothing and climbed on top of her, lying between her legs, and brought her arms up pinning them down.

He started kissing her neck. “You are mine.” He spoke between kisses. “I will take you any time I want… You will give yourself to me willingly without hesitation… Anytime I want, I will have what I want… I will have you.”

Data pushed into her. Neara was wet with excitement, but Data could tell she had conflicting emotions. He could tell she was not certain if she should allow herself any enjoyment. She was looking down and away from him.

Data went to pull her focus and moved his face so his eyes were looking at hers. Neara faced forward and looked at him.

“You are mine,” he looked directly at her and thrust in. Neara let out a clipped sigh of pleasure.

He took her with passion, instructing her where and how to move her body – to spread her legs wider, to get on top of him, to put her breast in his mouth. She orgasmed, but she held back, still feeling guilty. Data would work on that.

Every day he watched her, and if she started sinking into melancholy, he quickly ordered her into the bedroom and took her. He was attempting to break the pattern and jolt her out of her morose moods – to keep her from slipping into depression.

Slowly, it seemed to work. She was eating more, she was starting to smile, she was looking at him, she was having deeper orgasms, she started caressing him after he had taken her, he even was getting her up to dance after meals.

That evening at bedtime, she had submissively undressed and got into bed and he took her. She was now lying on top of him, running her fingers through his hair – something she had not done since before the Borg incident.

“Thank you,” she said.

Data realized she understood what he had been doing. “I knew if I was tender with you, your depression would deepen. You would push me further away out of guilt. I am glad I found a way to bring you back to me.”

“You are very wise La’Ma. You are true to your name,” Neara acknowledged.

“Does this mean you no longer feel guilty?” Data questioned.

“No, I still feel guilty. But for some reason, I see you still want me,” Neara said.

“I will always want you Neara. I love you,” Data imparted.

“Even after what I have done…” Neara wondered.

“A wise woman said, ‘We must allow others to make up for their mistakes. It is what we would hope they would do for us,’” Data quoted Neara’s words back to her.

“This was much more than a mere mistake,” Neara somberly noted.

“Yes, but you cannot help your nature,” Data stated.

“My nature made me unnecessarily kill those Borg and nearly kill you,” Neara said sadly.

“But you did not kill me. You stopped. And you did ask the Borg to leave before you began. You were trying to prevent activating this nature in you,” Data said understandingly.

“When I become that way, I feel I could devour the universe. It scares me,” Neara admitted.

“I tried to tell you this before, but you kept pushing me away – but I believe I understand, perhaps more than you realize. When my father activated my homing chip, there was a sick boy on the ship who needed immediate medical attention. But I used all of my abilities to get to Terlina III – I did not once think of the boy. While I was doing this, I was not actively aware – I was not in conscious control of my body. I did not know this chip existed and could do this to me. To this day, I am wary of the fact there might be another such chip or programming that could activate and alter my behavior outside of my conscious sphere of influence. I see your energy lust as the same thing – it brings you to a state outside of your conscious control. But even in that state, you did more than I was able to do. I was back in control only after my father reset the chip. You managed to regain control within that state. I was fortunate the boy did not die. You purposefully spared my life. I think that is astounding Neara. I can only hope if there is another such chip in me, that I am able to do as you did, and exert some level of self-control,” Data granted.

“That is how you see it La’Ma?” Neara questioned.

“That is exactly how I see it,” Data confirmed.

She caressed his face and looked at him in adoration, “You are wonderful.”

Data looked affectionately at his wife, “Would it be alright to bring variety back to our lovemaking?”

Neara smiled, “Yes.” She kissed him. “But I would like to feel you dominate me once again before we do so.”

“Of course,” Data agreed. He squeezed Neara’s ass and grabbed up the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her in for a rough, passionate kiss.


	40. Tala Pre-Teen

Tala went looking for Spot. It was their shared birthday, and Data had helped Tala create a special supplement for Spot to have while she had her birthday cake. Her cake had eleven candles on it, but she thought fifteen candles on Spot’s food would be too much. She instead opted to create the numbers one and five using small trails of gravy.

Two years ago, Spot had stopped climbing her towers to the ledge. So they removed them and in their place gave her a plushy chair with a ramp leading up to the seat. They called it her throne, and on a daily basis Tala would pay homage, placing treats on the seat in front of Spot’s reposing figure. Tala thought she was very regal indeed.

At the moment, Spot was not on her throne. She wasn’t on Tala’s bed or in her parent’s room, so there was only one other place she could be. She went to her father’s work room to the structure in the corner.

Three years ago, Geordi’s bestowed gift had arrived. Tala used this new engineering interest to build a tiny holodeck for Spot with the help of Geordi and her father. Spot loved her holodeck – it was the next best thing to Ahmria for her. She would go in and be in an outdoor world, playing with animals and enjoying the sunlight and the breeze through her fur. She was in there now, and Tala opened the door and tapped on the bowl to get her attention. She came trotting out for her food.

“Happy birthday Spot,” Tala said and stroked her while she ate.

Data went to look for his daughter. They were going to meet Picard to go on an archaeological dig – one of Tala’s bestowed gifts. He asked the computer where she was, and she was in Holodeck 2. He found her there practicing on a drum set. He always found it interesting to watch her play. Normally, she was a very subdued child, constantly on her computer. But when she played drums, she beat them with wild abandon and a passion that belied her calm nature. This was another bestowed gift, from Riker. She would play jazz with him, Riker playing trombone and Thad playing bass.

Data watched her for a few minutes then said, “Tala, it is time to go.”

“Alright Dad,” she responded, and they left the holodeck, the program dissipating behind them.

Data, Neara, Tala, and Picard went down to the planet Nabas Notra where an ancient religious sect had built subterranean temples to a fire god. Neara said there was a lot of energy emanating from the caverns, so she wanted to see them. Everyone but Data had to wear oxygen masks, since the atmosphere was too thin to breathe.

They were walking along, Picard and Tala in front, Neara and Data bringing up the rear, when Tala asked her mother, “Would you float me Mom?”

“It is important to use your muscles Tala,” Neara replied.

“When I’m sixteen, I’m going to fly everywhere,” Tala imparted.

“Then your muscles will waste away and you will not be able to hold yourself up,” Neara noted.

“Why would it matter when I can fly?” Tala ascertained.

Neara looked at Data pointedly, wanting him to talk sense to their daughter. “Tala, it would not be logical for you to allow your muscles to atrophy,” Data observed. “I am certain you would find you wanted to use them for various activities. For one thing, you would not be able to play your drums as powerfully as you do now.”

Tala looked down thoughtfully, “Yeah, I guess you’re right Dad.”

Of all the gifts Tala had bestowed upon her, her love of archaeology seemed to be the strongest. She would spend hours with Picard looking over pieces and talking about ancient civilizations. Data was not surprised. Picard had a commanding personality, a leadership and strength that most likely translated to his bestowed gift, giving it extra intensity. If her keen interest continued into adulthood, Tala would most likely pursue this as her field of expertise. Data would be curious to find out.

Neara came home and before she even saw her, she knew Spot had gone to the After. She called Data home – Tala would need him there to comfort her.

Tala returned from Thad’s and Neara took her hand, “Tala, Spot has gone to the After.”

Tala saw Spot on her throne and ran over to her and knelt down by her. She petted her and cried into her fur. Neara and Data came over and knelt down beside her, stroking Tala’s back and hair.

“She had gone to sleep and died,” Neara elucidated. “She did not feel any pain.”

Neara had explained to Data there were basically three ways a light being left its body. One was through physical trauma to the body which stopped a vital process or processes from functioning, thereby cutting off the signal, or magnetic energy production, to the body. The other was through either an illness or age that slowly sapped this energy, then the signal would eventually fade away, releasing the light being. The final would be through the light being’s force of will. A being could decide to shut off the magnetic energy signal allowing it to leave the body. This is what she felt happened with Lal. The fear overwhelmed her, and because she could not deal with it, her force of will caused cascade failure, shutting off the signal, releasing her from her body. With Spot, Data assumed her signal most likely faded with age.

“Is there anything you can do Mom? Can you bring her back?” Tala pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

Neara stroked Tala’s hair, “No, I am unable to do that. Even if I could, I would not – it was Spot’s decision to leave. She must have felt it was time to depart this life and return to the After. We must respect her wishes.”

“Why would she want to leave me?” Tala wailed.

“She did not want to leave you Tala,” Data assured. “She was older than your shared birthday age since her actual birth date was nine months before yours. She was sixteen. This is the average age span for a cat and a natural time for her to die.”

“I know you have not experienced this, but you are half Ahmriana. As such, we must willingly release Spot’s light being to the After. We must say the words and intone the frequency to help move her dimensional energy there,” Neara explained.

Data had not experienced this either, although Neara had described the ritual. Neara’s relatives were all younger, her three grandparents having passed away within months of each other, the year before Neara came to find Data. Apparently it was common, if ka’sha were similar in age and at the end of their life, to pass within a year of each other. Perhaps they used their force of will to be with one another.

Neara began, “Spot Na Soonga, of the family Na Soonga, feline in form, being of light. You have brought much joy and love. Your existence in the Now changed the vibration of the universe. You have made it better by your presence. We thank you. We are grateful to you. You are beloved to us, and we send you on your way with this love. As you came from the Before, we release you to the After. We release you… we release you… we release you.” With each release, Neara brought her arms up and threw them into the air as if releasing a bird into the sky. Then she put her arms up and held them there, singing the universal sound _ahm_ in a many-layered harmonic. Tala and Data put their arms up and joined in. The room started vibrating.

After a couple minutes, Neara stopped and put her arms down. Data and Tala did the same.

“We will take Spot’s body to Ahmria. We will cremate her there and she can imbue Ahmria with her essence,” Neara informed.

Data scooped Spot up and Tala petted her in his arms, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. Neara made a portal and they took Spot to Ahmria.


	41. Tala Teenager

It was Tala’s last year on the Enterprise, and the year was going to bring a lot of changes. At the end of the year, the current ship was going to be decommissioned, and the crew moved to a new Enterprise. Tala and her family would not be going, because her mother wanted to move to Ahmria by Tala’s fifteenth birthday. They would be moving the week before so she could spend her birthday there.

Upon taking over the new Enterprise, Uncle Will would become captain, and Uncle Jean would move up to admiral. He had yet to decide where he would be stationed.

Many people had wondered why Uncle Will did not take command of a smaller vessel when it was offered to him. But now, he would get to move directly to commanding a galaxy class starship, so his patience had paid off.

Tala would miss her friends, especially her best friend Thad. And she would miss visiting all of the many places across the universe. But Dad had made Mom a promise, and Tala’s feelings didn’t come into consideration. She already knew her Dad’s opinion from what he had told her as a baby, “You will find it is best to do as your mother requests. It makes her happy, and I hope you will find you enjoy making her happy as much as I do.” At this moment, she really didn’t enjoy making her mother happy.

She was slouched on the couch with her tablet, playing a game Thad had recommended. She had been playing it for forty-three minutes and she was already to level twenty-four.

Her mom and dad came in from work and kissed her hello then went to their bedroom. They would be having sex _again_. Nobody else had parents who had sex as much as hers. Hers had it three times a day! Before work, after work, and before sleep. Thad said he thought his parents probably had sex three times a week, but he wasn’t sure. Apparently, his parents knew how to be subtle, which obviously wasn’t an Ahmriana trait. None of that side of her family seemed to do subtle.

She had so many images from when she was young of her parents having sex. She wished she could erase them all. She knew her mother didn’t care – it was very Ahmriana of her. She said she thought Tala must have picked up some of her father’s modesty programming, because she could be very prudish. Her mom was hoping the move to Ahmria would loosen Tala up. Tala didn’t want to be loose – she wanted to stay just as she was, exactly where she was.

Her parents came out twenty-five minutes later, her mother _literally_ floating on air. Gross. She just didn’t get attraction to boys, much less her father. Her dad was great, she loved him, but he was kind of a dork. A lovable dork, but a dork nonetheless – nothing sexy about that. But she supposed if somebody didn’t find him attractive she wouldn’t be here, so there was that.

Just like her father, Tala could do many things at once. At the moment, she had three different items open on her tablet. She was reading a book for class, doing her math homework, and she was on level thirty-six of the game. Her mother asked her to chop vegetables.

“Yeah Mom, I’ll be right there,” Tala was focused on the game and wanted to get to level forty before she stopped. It was taking longer than she thought, the levels getting progressively more difficult.

Data observed their interaction while playing his violin. He could chop the vegetables in seconds, but Neara wanted Tala to learn to contribute to the family, so he did not offer his assistance.

After a few minutes, Neara said, “Tala, I asked you to come help me.”

“I heard Mom. I’ll be right with you,” she responded, her eyes locked on her tablet.

“Are you certain you really heard me, because you are not even looking at me,” Neara noted. “Data, will you please talk to your child about social cues?”

Data sat down beside his daughter and said, “It is important you give your attention to the other person during a conversation so they know they have been heard.”

“But I can hear them fine Dad,” Tala responded, still glued to the game. “Surely they don’t need me looking at them to hear me.”

“It is considered rude, Tala, if you do not look at them,” Data explained. “If you are focusing on another task and not on them, it makes them feel unimportant.”

“Thad doesn’t mind,” she said, still looking at the game.

“But other people do,” Data informed.

Tala lowered her tablet and looked at Data, “OK Dad, I’ll go help Mom now.”

Over dinner Tala asked, “Can I go to a concert on Jaquajacs tomorrow? A group of kids from the Enterprise is going, and there’ll be kids from all over the solar system as well.”

Data and Neara looked at each other. “Tala, Jaquajacs is dangerous,” Neara said warily.

“Yeah, but there’ll be a group of us. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Tala reasoned.

“Others have not gone through what your father and I have gone through to have a child. We will let you go as long as your father goes along for protection,” Neara elucidated.

“Aww Mom, can’t Uncle Worf go instead?” Tala complained.

Data looked at his daughter in confusion, “But I am physically stronger and faster than Worf. Surely I would be a better choice.”

“Yes,” Neara agreed, “you will take your father.”

“But Mom!” Tala whined. “He’s so not nebula.”

Data looked at Neara in befuddlement. Neara answered his unspoken question, “The children have given that word an additional meaning. Nebula now also means cool. So your child is saying you are uncool.”

“But.. I am nebula,” Data defended. “I have brought the renowned Zakdorn strategist, Sirna Kolrami, to a stalemate in a game of Strategema.”

Neara grinned at Data, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “You will always be nebula to me ka’lee,” she said stroking his arm. Tala rolled her eyes. Neara looked at her child, “Tala, there will be no further discussion. If you wish to go, your father must go with you.”

“Alright Mom,” Tala conceded and sulkily finished her dinner.

Tala was on the couch showing her mother pictures of the concert on Jaquajacs while Data made dinner. He was busy chopping the Ahmrian vegetables listening to his daughter talk.

“And look at this one Mom,” Tala said excitedly. “They were blowing these huge bubbles and people were trying to pass them in the crowd without breaking them. Mom… what are you looking at? What’s so interesting about Dad?”

Data looked up to see Neara staring at him with a slight smile and eyes so full of love Data felt a rush through his body, like an electrical storm. He felt his heart somehow fill and expand, as if it would burst. His solar plexus grew to become a large dish, receiving and sending this same signal – this signal of love.

Data smiled back as they held each other’s gaze. Then Tala whined, “Mom!” and Neara’s smile turned into a grin and she went back to looking at Tala’s photos.

Data was in awe. The sixteen years they had been together only deepened the connection he had with Neara. With simply a look and a smile she could elicit intense feelings from him. He absolutely adored his wife – she was remarkable.

Tala slumped into their quarters and plopped down on the couch beside Data. She quickly rubbed tears from her eyes.

“What is wrong Tala?” Data asked, concerned.

“I’m just stupid is all Dad,” Tala lamented.

“You are not stupid Tala.” Data gave her leg a consoling stroke, “What happened?”

“I asked a girl out and she told me she wasn’t interested in girls that way. I’m so stupid!” and more tears spilled from her eyes.

Data spoke to his daughter in loving support, “It sounds to me like you bravely expressed your feelings to this girl. Being brave is never stupid.”

Tala threw her arms around her father’s neck and cried into his shoulder. Data wondered if he had said the wrong thing, but he comfortingly caressed his child’s back and attempted to soothe her.

Data went to see Counselor Troi about the incident.

“Is there any way a person can tell if another is romantically interested in the same sex?” Data asked.

“The most direct route would be to just ask them,” Troi informed. “Are you wondering if a man is interested in you?”

“No, I am not asking for myself,” Data explained. “Tala just asked a girl in her class out and she said she was not interested in girls that way. I just wondered if there was a way Tala could tell who would be interested, and spare her the pain of rejection.”

“Well, dealing with rejection is a normal part of life and growing up,” Troi counseled. “Even if this girl was interested in other girls, she might not be interested in Tala. Just encourage her to keep trying – she’ll eventually meet someone to date. Frankly, I’m surprised she’s not dating an Ahmriana. Don’t they date all genders?”

“Yes, but I believe she has a crush on this girl,” Data elucidated.

Troi nodded in understanding, “Those first crushes can be an intense experience. Just let her know we all go through that – she’s not alone.”

“But I have not gone through that, and neither has Neara. I have never had a crush, and Ahmriana, as young people, date each other freely. They do not pair off as human teenagers seem to do. So if Neara had a romantic interest in a person, she need only let them know,” Data imparted.

“I see. Then I think you should encourage Tala to date Ahmriana if you want save her that pain,” Troi suggested. “In any case, it would probably be good for her to have a positive experience after this one. To let her know there are others interested in her and things will be OK.”

“I will recommend this course of action to her. Thank you Counselor,” Data said gratefully.

It was an awkward conversation with her parents over the dinner table that evening. They encouraged her to date Ahmriana, but they only went to the planet every three weeks and didn’t stay for very long. Her mother told her she wouldn’t need any time to woo another teenager – all she had to do was ask.

They were going to the planet for a week this time, plenty of time for Tala to work up the courage to ask Laksa out. She had long indigo hair and a slight blue sheen to her skin and the greatest smile Tala had ever seen. It melted her insides and made her feel incredibly self-conscious. She hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself, but her mother reassured her Laksa would be receptive.

Tala did find the courage and the two went to the Sooria Falls for a picnic. They talked and ate and when they were done, Tala smiled shyly.

“ _May I kiss you?_ ” she asked Laksa. She was speaking in Ahmrian, as she always did on the planet.

“ _I would like that_ ,” Laksa agreed.

It was Tala’s first kiss, and she was very nervous. They bent towards each other and their lips met. Then Tala felt an electric lava flow through her body. She was on fire and a live wire at the same time. It was incredible.

Their lips parted, and Laksa moved closer to put her arms around Tala. Tala returned the embrace. They kissed and kissed for the longest time – Tala felt as if she were floating on air, just as her mother could literally do. Now she finally understood.

When the date ended, Tala asked Laksa out for the following day. Laksa agreed, and they had another outing with lots more kissing. She asked her out again for the next day, and on that outing, they lay together kissing and caressing each other. The day after that, they had another date, and Tala tried caressing Laksa in more intimate places and Laksa stopped her.

“ _No Tala, we should save that for our ka’falla_ ,” Laksa advised.

“ _But, are you_ _not_ _curious?_ ” Tala asked, feeling a little hurt by the rebuff.

“ _Yes, I am._ _T_ _hat is why I do not wish to start – in case we are unable to stop ourselves from going too far,_ ” Laksa explained.

“ _Would that be such a bad thing?_ ” Tala wondered.

“ _I would prefer to wait,_ ” Laksa stated with finality. “ _But I would like to continue kissing_.”

Tala got her mother alone to talk and let her know what happened between her and Laksa.

“ _Why does she want to deny herself? We_ _are_ _young – are we_ _not_ _supposed to explore?_ ” Tala questioned.

“ _Oh Tala, I blame this on the fact you have been on the_ Enterprise _too long and not living on Ahmria. Things will change once you are here._ _You will be immersed in your own culture_ ,” Neara started. “ _You must understand, people on Ahmria want to wait for their ka’falla because they do not want to fumble around not knowing what to do. They want to save this first special experience and have it be amazing. They are doing this for themselves – they are not denying themselves, as you mistakenly think. They are actually thinking only of themselves, being selfish. There is much greedy anticipation amongst the teenagers. You will find they regularly talk about who they will ask as their fallasha. It will be a very exciting time for you._ ”

“ _I was excited enough with Laksa,_ ” Tala lamented.

“ _I promise, it will be worth the wait,_ ” Neara assured. “ _ Do you need some more sex toys? _ ”

Tala tried not to roll her eyes in exasperation. “ _No Mom. Thanks._ ”

Tala was to meet Laksa again, but this time she had a friend in tow. His name was Hesta, and Tala could see he was quite attractive with his dark indigo skin and long blond hair. He was very friendly, but Tala was hoping to have more time alone with Laksa before returning to the Enterprise.

They were sitting on a blanket together chatting when Laksa turned to Hesta and gave him a kiss. Then she gave Tala a kiss. Hesta bent towards Tala, waiting for her to meet him for a kiss which never happened. Tala just didn’t feel that way about him. She looked at him in unease.

“ _What is wrong Tala?”_ Laksa asked.

“ _I just do_ _not_ _really like_ _males_ _that way,_ ” Tala explained awkwardly.

Laksa and Hesta looked at each other in bewilderment.

“ _All males?”_ Laksa questioned.

“ _Yes,_ ” Tala answered.

“ _But you have not met all males. How do you know you feel this way about all males?”_ she wondered.

“ _They just do not do anything for me… sexually,_ ” Tala explained.

Laksa and Hesta looked at each other with frowns of consideration.

“ _Well, I would like to kiss both of you, so I would like to continue,_ ” Laksa said.

“ _If it is your will, I would never do anything to counter that,_ ” Hesta addressed Tala. “ _I will kiss only Laksa. I would also like to continue._ ”

“ _I have an idea,_ ” Laksa announced, and flagged down a group of teenagers who were approaching. “ _We can all kiss together,_ ” she said once they had arrived. “ _Tala,_ ” Laksa said indicating her, “ _only wishes to kiss females. Would you like to join us?”_

The group all came and sat down, a half-dozen girls surrounding Tala. Everyone started kissing and caressing each other. Tala was in heaven.

Tala and Data were in their living room playing a speed game together. They had two speed games – one was the telekinesis game so Tala could improve her ability, and the other was a calculation game. Data created a program where the two would perform random calculations to test their processing speed against each other. Data would adjust his physical motion as well as the display on his tablet to mimick Tala’s visual capacity. Once his speed and vision were adjusted to compensate, he could accurately gauge Tala’s computational abilities.

Neara came home after seeing Counselor Troi and laughed when she saw them, “You two are at it again!”

“Yes. Tala’s speed has greatly improved over the last five weeks,” Data informed.

“Is there any way to increase the speed at which she cleans her room?” Neara asked.

“Very funny Mom,” Tala said dryly.

The doorbell sounded and Neara let Geordi in.

“I will be with you in one moment,” Data informed him. Geordi had been roped into doing a play, and Data was going to run lines with him before rehearsal.

Data and Tala were neck-and-neck performing calculations when Data said with pleasure, “Ah, you beat me!”

Tala jumped up from her seat and continued jumping around waving her arms in the air. “Yes! I’m the champion!” She started making sounds like a crowd cheering and used one hand to hold the other up and said in a feigned ring announcer’s voice, “The winner! The champion of the universe!!”

Neara walked past her and stated plainly, “You are an idiot.”

“I am a WINNER!” Tala exclaimed.

“Oh, then let me congratulate the winner,” Neara said and took Tala’s face between her hands and started kissing her rapidly all over her face. Tala was squealing in protest and stepped backwards to get away and fell on the couch, Neara following, still kissing.

Data had gotten up to get his costume and Geordi was waiting, watching the scene.

Data came out of the bedroom and Tala yelled, “Dad, get your ka’sha off me!”

“I do not wish to get in the middle,” Data imparted.

Neara kept kissing her, and Tala cried out in laughing protest, “Dad please help me!… Get this woman off of me!”

Data and Geordi turned to leave and Tala shouted, “Eww gross, Dad, she licked me!!!”

Geordi turned to Data and said, “Looks like you have your hands full.”

“That may be an understatement,” Data concurred.

As they left, they could hear Tala saying, “Get off of me… Disgusting!!” while Neara laughed in raucous glee.


	42. The Creature

The Enterprise had been called to a newly colonized planet where all of the inhabitants had mysteriously died. The colonist contacted the Federation, but they perished before the ship reached them. The only symptom they reported was extreme fatigue.

Crusher brought the bodies on board to do autopsies, but utmost precaution was necessary. A cargo bay was converted for the operation. Special isolation pods were used to transport the bodies, and a special isolation chamber was erected in the bay to house them upon arrival.

The medics, donned in full hazmat, were sent to the planet surface to collect the bodies. During transport back to the ship, they were scanned for any foreign substances. Once on board, they took the pods into the chamber and placed them on individual steel tables. They then went through three decontamination rooms before leaving the chamber.

All one hundred and eight were finally on board. It was a depressing sight for Crusher, and she wasn’t looking forward to the disheartening task. But she hoped she could find the cause, and at least give the families an explanation for their loss.

The medics went through a final decontamination scrub down, and Crusher scanned them carefully. They were all fine, according to her instruments. She dismissed them and went to the makeshift morgue.

Nurse Ogawa informed her one of the pods was blinking, indicating a faulty seal. She hailed engineering to have someone inspect and repair the pod, if possible. If not, the unit would have to be replaced, but she preferred to leave the bodies in situ until their autopsies. Until she knew the cause of death, she wanted to minimize any potential risk.

Geordi came to do the task. He felt he should do this, rather than sending in a subordinate. He wouldn’t send anyone into a situation he wouldn’t go into, and if he was able, he felt it was important to take the lead dealing with any hazardous situations. He donned full hazmat and went into the chamber…

The creature could feel the energy surrounding it. It was hungry. It had lain dormant for over two centuries before the energy beings arrived, slithering into a body when the person touched the fossil it lay in. It sucked them dry, one by one, but their energy was not enough to sate the centuries of want. The creature was already beginning to weaken.

These new arrivals did not touch the body it was inhabiting. They used a tractor beam to hover it into a container. Their energies did not even get close enough for the creature to make the transfer, and the pods created a barrier to their energy. It’s body’s hand was resting against the side of the container, so the creature used what energy it had, sending it into the latching mechanism in an attempt to open it. It was unsuccessful, but an energy being was approaching. It would try again to open the container…

Geordi approached the blinking pod, walking past the rows upon rows of dead colonists. It was both sad and creepy at the same time. And scary, not knowing the cause of it. Geordi wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

He scanned the container. It seemed the sealing mechanism had become partially dislodged, the latch stuck in a half-open position. Suddenly, it sprung fully open and the lid lifted and the colonist’s hand sagged slightly out of the pod.

While the lid was open, Geordi inspected the seal. It all looked good. He made some adjustments to the latch and examined its workings. When everything checked out, he went to close the lid. The colonist’s hand was in the way. He used the tips of his gloved fingers to push it into the pod and pressed the lid down. The seal made an air lock, sighing into position.

Geordi quickly made his way out of the chamber. He went through the three levels of decontamination and then had a scrub down. Crusher checked him over and gave him the all clear. He went back to engineering to continue his day – he was glad this part of it was over…

The creature had used what energy reserves it had to open the latch – it could not have made the jump to the energy being’s body. Fortunately, the energy being touched the body it was in and it was easily able to make the transfer. It wrapped itself around the being’s DNA antennas and voraciously soaked up the incoming frequency…

Two days later, Geordi went to Data’s quarters to see if he wanted to help him work on another model. Neara answered the door…

The creature could feel the potent energy pulsing through this being – the powerful magnetic pull. It felt it could almost leap into the other body, but it was not yet strong enough…

“Hello Geordi,” and she gave him the Ahmrian greeting…

The bodies touched, and the creature quickly slid into its new host. It wrapped around the DNA with relish, engorging itself…

“Hi Neara. Is Data in?” he asked.

Data came out and the two spoke while Neara went to listen to music on the couch.

A week later, Neara was at work in engineering. She went to talk to Geordi.

“I am feeling very tired. Do you mind if I leave early today?” Neara asked.

“That’s fine Neara,” Geordi consented. “You know, I was feeling really tired a few days back, but then it went away. I think I caught a bug at that conference I went to earlier. Sorry, I must have given it to you. Just stay home until you feel better. I’m sure you’ll be fine in a couple days.”

“Alright. I will see you after a couple of days,” Neara agreed and went home.

That evening before bed, Data and Neara made love. Data noticed neither Neara’s orgasm, or by extension his own, was as powerful as usual.

“I am sorry ka’lee, I am very tired,” she apologized. “Geordi thinks he caught an infection at a conference. He got better after two days, so I will have to wait a couple of days to feel better. I am sure I will be fine.”

“Should you see Dr Crusher about this?” Data asked.

“I will wait a couple of days, and if I do not feel better, I will go and see her. She is very busy right now with her autopsies. I do not wish to disturb her over nothing,” Neara explained.

“Alright. Is there anything I can do for you?” Data solicitously inquired.

“No ka’lee, I will just try to get some rest,” she answered and cuddled into his chest while Data tenderly stroked her hair.

Neara slept most of the following day. Data woke her to feed her Ahmrian food to keep up her Ahmriakana. He knew this would help her heal faster. She slept through the night and was still asleep in the afternoon when Data tried to wake her. She was not responding.

“Neara, Neara,” Data was gently shaking her.

Neara’s eyes slowly opened, “What is wrong ka’lee?”

“You have been asleep for sixteen hours,” Data enlightened. “I think we should take you to see Dr Crusher.”

“I believe you are right La’Ma. It has been two days and I do not feel better. I actually feel worse – more tired,” Neara conveyed.

They made their way to Sick Bay and Crusher examined Neara.

“You say you’re feeling tired and it’s been getting worse,” Crusher confirmed.

“Yes. Geordi said he felt tired for two days then got better. That is why I did not see you earlier – I thought this would pass,” Neara elucidated.

Crusher looked concerned. “Neara, all of the colonists progressively tired until they died, and I still haven’t been able to find a cause. Geordi fixed a seal on one of the quarantine pods, so he may have caught something while doing the repair. If so, nothing showed up on his scans. And I don’t understand why he got better. I think we should put you into quarantine and run tests on you and get Geordi in to do the same. We need to figure this out.”

“That will not be necessary Beverly. I already know what it is,” Neara somberly informed. Data and Crusher looked at her in quizzical anticipation. “It is a dimensional energy parasite. I thought perhaps they had died off, but apparently not. We will need to go to Ahmria. They will be able to destroy the parasite once it is out of my body.”

“Alright. Do we need to put you in quarantine? Would that even help?” Crusher asked.

“No, it will not transfer to another body – it has no reason to. But we should get to Ahmria as quickly as possible,” Neara advised.


	43. Release

It took three days to reach Ahmria, Neara slowly weakening over that time. She stayed mostly in bed, eating foods rich in Ahmriakana. Both Data and Tala were very worried, but Neara would simply ask them to come cuddle with her. Crusher seemed equally concerned, which did not help to ease Data’s fears.

They finally reached Ahmria. Leyna had set up a bed in the living room so they could better care for Neara. When her family saw her, they started crying and hugging her. This is when Data knew there was something terribly wrong.

“I thought you would be able to remove the parasite and kill it,” Data said.

“I am afraid we are unable to remove it Data,” Leyna replied, touching his arm consolingly. “The nature of this parasite is such that it is indistinguishable from the host it inhabits. We can kill it once it releases itself – once Neara has died.”

“No… no.. that cannot be the only solution! There must be something more you can do,” Data’s eyes were wide and wild with worry. Leyna looked at the others in helpless anguish.

“Mom! Oh Mom!” he heard Tala yell as she joined her mother on the bed, holding her and crying. Leyna looked on sadly.

“I cannot accept this. We must try to find a way to help Neara,” Data resolved.

“Please come here ka’lee,” Neara requested, her hand outstretched to Data. Data came over and took it. “We knew this was going to happen. It is much sooner than either of us expected, but it was not unknown. I was hoping I would at least see Tala grown, but it is not meant to be.”

“It is too soon Neara,” Data asserted. “We both know it is too soon. I will find a way to help you. I will ask the Q for help.”

“I cannot see how the Q will be able to help,” Leyna stated. “And in any case, they will not help our Weaver.”

“I must try,” Data looked at Leyna in earnest desperation.

“Then we will summon them for you,” Leyna agreed.

“There is a Q that has taken an interest in Captain Picard,” Data informed. “Perhaps you can summon that Q.”

“Very well,” Leyna consented. “We cannot trust the Q on our planet, so we will need to go to Dessa. Jean-Luc can meet us there. We will use his energy to summon this Q. We will also need to bring Neara, if this Q is willing and able to help.”

Data nodded his acceptance and gratefully sighed, “Thank you.”

Data was standing on Dessa, holding Neara in his arms. Any of her family could have floated her, but he wanted to hold her. Tala was standing beside them, holding Neara’s hand. Picard was there, as well as thirty-six Ahmriana. They used his vibration to summon the particular Q they wanted.

He suddenly appeared, looking disoriented. He spoke testily, “I’m not used to be summoned. What are you Ahmriana up to?” He then saw Picard, “Mon Capitaine! To what do I owe this jarring honor?”

Data stepped forward with Neara. “It was actually I who wanted to speak to you. I wanted to ask for your help.”

Q looked at Neara, “I see. Your Weaver has a dimensional energy parasite. Nasty things. There were two that escaped from the Continuum, or the Before and After, as the Ahmriana so quaintly put it. It’s having quite a feast on all her energy, and it’s getting very large. What is it you want from me?”

“Can you help? Can you get rid of the parasite?” Data entreated.

“Didn’t they tell you?” Q questioned, looking at the Ahmriana, then back at Data. “That thing is wrapped around her – it’s a part of her. They’re practically the same thing. I couldn’t kill it without killing her. Perhaps if it had been spotted before it set up house… but alas,” he said spreading his hands at Neara.

“So there’s nothing you can do for her?” Data pleaded.

“I only wish there were. It would be wonderful to have a Weaver beholden to me, but of course, the Q wouldn’t allow it anyway,” Q explained.

“Could you not go back in time and stop the parasite from entering her?” Data asked.

“Normally, that is something I could do. But in this case, I can’t, even if the Q allowed it,” Q informed. “You see, the Ahmriana don’t trust us, so they made it that if an Ahmriana is in a timeline, that timeline cannot be altered. Nothing can be done to the timeline that would prevent the Ahmriana from entering into it, and nothing can be done to harm or hinder them once they are in it. Nowhere along the timeline can anything be altered. The Ahmriana were afraid the Q would go back and prevent their initial development, or potentially prevent a Weaver being born – which is a valid concern, a wise precaution on their part. But in this case, it prevents me from going back and helping her.

“I suppose I could go back to when the parasite escaped the continuum and prevent it from leaving. In theory, that should work. It would do nothing to prevent the Weaver entering this timeline, and because it happened before her entry into it, her very existence as a matter of fact, it should be possible. It wouldn’t hinder or harm her in any way, it would be the exact opposite.

“But there’s no use theorizing, because I couldn’t possibly help her. She killed a Q, and the Q would throw me out of the collective if I dared raise a finger to help… But, I can help _you_ , Tin Man. I can see that cobweb of emotion she’s placed in you,” Q waved a hand at Data’s head. “I can wipe that out, if you want. When she dies, you won’t feel a thing.”

Neara touched Data’s face pleadingly and shook her head. Data looked at her, then Tala, who said, “Please don’t Dad.”

“I will have to decline your offer,” Data affirmed.

“Very well. I do think that’s a mistake – you were so perfect before. I can’t understand why you’d want to do that to yourself,” Q wondered aloud. “Seeing as I can’t be of any service to you, and I’m gaining nothing from this interaction, I’ll just be on my way. I’ll see you soon, mon Capitaine!” and Q disappeared.

Over the days, Neara weakened incrementally, but she assured Data she was in no pain. The family had time to say their goodbyes. Data was still in denial, hoping there would be a sudden revelation, something they had overlooked that would save his beloved. He scoured his mind while he held her, searching through his vast knowledge to no avail. What good was it if it could not save her?!

Through his denial, Neara kept telling him he needed to stay alive – he needed to protect Tala. Data assumed she was concerned he would shut himself down – sever his magnetic energy signal through his force of will thereby killing himself. He did not acquiesce to her pleas, he could not guarantee his actions upon her… he could not even bring himself to think the word.

Finally, she and her family seemed to know it was time. The Ahmriana had set up a funeral pyre outside – a raised platform with a large, shiny black surface like the one they cooked on with a mattress on top of it. The family wanted to take Neara out, but Data would not allow it. He did not want to do this. He did not want this to be real.

Neara asked everyone to give her a moment alone with Data.

“Ka’lee, if you will not let them, you must take me out there,” Neara instructed. “It is for their protection. For our daughter’s protection. Once I die the parasite will look for another host. It is very strong now, so it will be able to travel outside of a body for a time. It could easily travel from me to another Ahmriana anywhere on the planet. Please Data, you must not let this happen.”

She took Data’s hands and looked him earnestly in the eyes, “You are a good being. You would not want anyone else to die needlessly.”

“I do not want _you_ to die,” Data implored.

“It is my time,” Neara stated.

“It is too soon. If you hold on a bit longer…” Data started.

“You know that will not change anything.” Neara said caringly, “Perhaps this is a punishment… for killing all those Borg and killing that Q. I could not be allowed to continue being as happy as you have made me.”

“But our daughter is being punished, your family is being punished, _I_ am being punished. Perhaps I could understand why I would be punished after killing Armus, but what has Tala done? What has your family done? No, this is not right – it is not fair.”

“But it is what will be,” Neara said in acceptance. “I knew when I came to look for you my life would be foreshortened, but the pull to be with you was just too great. Now I know there was a reason for it. I believe there will be a time when a Weaver is born who will need your abilities. I had to be with you so this future Weaver could come into being. I am certain Tala will have a child, and with that, your neural net will be passed on. And it will continue to be passed on until this Weaver is born – and then maybe beyond that.

“This is why I need you to stay alive and protect Tala. She needs you La’Ma. You need to protect her from any dangerous situation. You need to stay close to her. She might object, but it is important. You must promise me La’Ma – I must hear you say you promise.”

Data’s insides were twisting in anguish, but he would do this for his wife.. his ka’sha, “I promise.”

“She will need you too. She acts strong, but she is only a child. She will be in pain. You must share your pain together – you must love and console each other. And you must know, I will wait for you in the After. You will come to me La’Ma, I know this. But you must not come before your time.

“And you both should stay on Ahmria now, with your family. You need them – they will give you great love and support. And Tala needs to know her culture. She should have her ka’falla. She will probably say she does not want this, but I believe she will regret it if she does not have it. You can make her feel guilty and say it was her mother’s dying wish, if you feel it will help.

“I only wish I could be here to see her through to adulthood. You will have to take her through it yourself La’Ma. You are a wonderful parent – I know you can do this on your own. I always admire how tender and loving you are with Tala. I only wish I could have given you more children – you are so beautiful with them. Perhaps you will make another child one day. If so, I will love this being from the After.”

Data started crying for the first time. Neara brushed the tear on his cheek, and Data took her hand, “I do not want you to go.”

Tears brimmed in Neara’s eyes, “I do not want to go either ka’lee, but the universe has other plans.”

Data lay on the bed and they held each other. After a few moments, Neara said, “Please take me outside Data. Even if there were no need for safety, I would still wish to die outside.”

Data gently picked Neara up and carried her outside. Tala rushed over, crying, and held Neara’s hand. Data carefully placed Neara on the mattress and lay next to her, Tala lying on her other side.

The family came over and surrounded her, talking with her, tears streaming down their faces. All except Leyna, her face looked as if it had been chiseled from granite.

Data’s family came over and said their goodbyes, then the stood back respectfully. Thousands of Ahmriana were present, both on the ground and in the air.

Neara was fading. Her family, each in turn, gave her the Ahmrian kiss, then Leyna rapidly kissed Neara all over her face. “I will see you in the After,” she said and stepped away.

After a few moments Neara kissed Tala’s head and said, “Tala, it is time. You should go to your Grandmother now.”

“No Mom, no!!” Tala wailed and held Neara tightly and buried her face in her chest. Leyna stepped forward and gently removed Tala and took her back with her.

Data was left with Neara. Her breathing was becoming very shallow. She turned her head to him and they kissed.

“Will you stand beside me Data and hold my hand?” Neara requested. “You will be OK. The parasite only attaches to DNA signals.”

Data did not want to leave. Tears were streaming down his face.

“Data, you must – for all these people… for our child,” Neara pleaded.

Data got up and stood beside Neara holding her hand.

Neara said in rasping breath, “I will watch over you, and I will see you in the After when it is your time. Remember Data, you promised me. I love you beyond all reason. _Ka’na’la lee ka’sha_.”

Data repeated the words from his wedding vow, “I am yours completely. _Soo nah see_ (I would die for you) _, ka'na'la_ (I love you) _. Ka ta na_ (love begins with you) _, lee ka’sha_ (my loved one) _.”_

“Do not die for me ka’lee, stay alive for me. Remember your promise,” Neara rasped out her final words and her breathing stopped.

The pyre burst into blue flame, Leyna controlling it from a distance. Data did not let go of Neara’s hand. He stood beside her as the flames consumed the mattress then her bod y.

He knew what the Ahmriana had planned. After her death, the parasite would remain in Neara’s body, absorbing the last bits of magnetic energy before searching for another host. The fire would burn Neara’s body, consuming that final energy, denaturing the DNA antenna, forcing the parasite to unwind and detach. Once detached, they could intone to kill it, making it antimatter. The timing was everything.

Data stood, holding Neara’s hand outside of the flame. He did not want to let go. His skin and eyes were composed of an asbestos-like substance that defied pigmentation, giving him his unique coloring and his ability to withstand extreme temperatures. They remained unaffected, as did his flame-resistant clothing, but the intense heat burned off his eyebrows, his eyelashes, his hair. His clothing started to singe. Still he did not let go.

Finally, Leyna approached, “Data, you must let go. You must put her hand in the flame.”  She waited, and when he did not respond she simply said, “Please Data.”

Data slowly and lovingly placed her hand in the flame. Thousands of Ahmriana started intoning as his wife’s body turned to ash.

The singing stopped. The clearing was totally silent. Then Data let out a roar and  ran,  dropp ing to his knees in front of a nearby boulder  which he began to pound .  He pummeled it until it turned to dust, tearing away the flesh over his fingers and knuckles, exposing the framework below, his roar never ceasing.

His friends and family looked on in  sorrowful worry . Tala cried out, “Oh Dad!” and ran over to him. He stopped punching  as she approached, sat back on his ankles, and covered his sobbing face with his hands. Tala sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around him, crying,  “Oh Dad… oh Dad.”

Leyna floated over and put her arm around Data, his body convulsing with each sob. She stroked Tala’s hair.

“ I cannot do this. I cannot do this. I do not want to feel this.  _ I do not want to feel this!” _ Data exclaimed.

“You must Data, you must,” Leyna commanded. “Tala needs you. You promised Neara. You must stay alive.”

He looked up at Leyna,  tears streaming down his face, his expression  one of hopeless agony.  “I cannot do this.”

She looked at him with grave certainty, “You can and you must.  You must be stronger than you knew you could ever be. Your child needs you.  Do not take away both her parents. ”

“ Oh Dad,” Tala weeped. He looked down at his child and saw her worried, grief-stricken face –  felt her body trembling  in fear and anguish.  He pulled her close and hugged her tightly and kissed her head.  When she was a baby, he dedicated himself to helping her with the process of finding her way in the universe. He vowed to always be there for her.  Neara was right – she would need him now more than ever.

“ We must release Neara’s spirit to the After,” Leyna gently informed.

Data stood up, holding Tala. Then he delicately put her down letting her stand, held her hand, and the three walked over to the rest of the group.  Friends and family hugged them, then Jossa began in his booming voice,  speaking in Ahmrian .

“ _Neara Na Ahta Na Soonga,_ _twenty-sixth_ _Weaver of Ahmria, being of light. You have brought much joy and love. Your existence in the Now changed the vibration of the universe. You have made it better by your presence. We thank you. We are grateful to you. You are beloved to us, and we send you on your way with this love. As you came from the Before, we release you to the After. We release you… we release you… we release you._ ” Thousands of Ahmriana threw their arms in the air three times, releasing Neara’s spirit to the After. Then they put their arms up and held them there, singing the universal sound _ahm_ in a many-layered harmonic. The vibration in the clearing was astonishing.

After a couple minutes, they stopped and put their arms down. A single butterfly flitted by, Neara’s favorite of the ones Data had envisioned – the ones she created. It flew into the distance. Neara’s beautiful light being had been released.


	44. The Circle of Life

Days went by, then week, months, and years. Data and Tala remained on Ahmria. Tala experienced her culture and she did go through with her ka’falla with two female and one intersex fallasha. She learned to fly and made many friends. She was well received by the people of Ahmria.

As Neara said, her family was very loving and supportive. They never pushed or prodded Data to move on. They simply showed him love and compassion.

His family, on the other hand, somehow felt the need to encourage him to get out and meet someone new. They waited for a year before they did this, but to Data, it was as if Neara had died yesterday.

“You’d said you were compatible with the Ahmriana species,” Riker commented. “I’m certain Neara wouldn’t want you to spend your life alone.”

Data would simply respond, “But I am not alone. I have Tala.”

Data spent his days scrolling through the perfectly clear memories of his life with Neara. When they first met, their first night together, their first week together, dancing, painting on her, moving in together, his first emotion and the many emotions that followed, her proposal, her strength, her glowing eyes, their bonding and wedding ceremonies, the ka’nashta, discovering she was a Weaver and all it meant, her incredible self-sacrifice, showing him he was a dimensional energy being, becoming pregnant, Tala’s birth, being a family, Neara rescuing him, all of the many times they made love, the way she would look at him as if the love of the universe flowed through her eyes. Everything except the end – he could not bear reliving that time.

Neara would come to him in his dreams and he would awaken, reaching across the bed to touch her, but she was not there. The dreams were so real. And then he felt the intense pain, the anguish.

When Riker had reminded him of what he had said all those years ago, he felt ashamed. What a fool he had been, how arrogant, to say he could be successful in a relationship with any Ahmriana. She was irreplaceable. She was so kind and loving, so gracious when he had said this. So gracious with his faults and shortcomings. He missed her with an ache that seemed to boil up from the very core of his being. Every particle in him yearned for her. She had worn a groove in him so deep it was a chasm – a gaping, yawning chasm of emptiness.

So he spent his days caring for Tala and doing what he could to help the universal vibration. Leyna and the others encouraged him to do this, saying it was what Neara would want – she would insist they all continue to be good and helpful, whatever the circumstance.

Three years had passed since Neara’s death, and Tala wanted to study archaeology. They moved to Earth and Tala began her studies at Cambridge where Data became a professor. They were able to regularly return to Ahmria for visits with family and friends owing to the portal Neara had created on her birthday.

Tala continued her studies and soon was a doctoral student. It seemed soon to Data, but everything seemed soon to him. Tala now looked like a young version of her mother. She had her own distinct personality and carried herself differently, but sometimes, if she was quietly looking at something or if he caught her at the right angle, it was as if he was seeing Neara. And his heart would break a little at the sight. He never told Tala this, of course. It was probably difficult enough for Tala seeing her mother’s face in her own any time she looked in the mirror.

As per Neara’s request, Data would accompany his daughter if she was going on a dig anywhere potentially dangerous. At first this annoyed Tala, but then she felt compassion for him. She figured her father was being overly protective, because he didn’t want to lose another person he loved.

As time went by, Tala felt a burning desire to have a child. She didn’t understand where it sprang from, but she assumed it must have come from her father’s neural net implant. He had always wanted to have a child, and now she was feeling that same need.

At the end of her final doctoral year, Tala had the Prime Healer implant her with a cloned embryo. Tala’s clone duplicated perfectly with no errors. Even the neural net duplicated, although a much less complex version. It was miraculous. Tala was in awe of her mother – her ability had been truly astounding.

She named the child Soola, and Data helped take care of her. He would stay up all night with his granddaughter, just as he had done with Tala. He would feed and change her and sing her “ _Soo Na_ _h_ _See”_ and watch her sleep in his arms. He only wished Neara could have been there – she would have loved being a grandmother.

Three more years had passed, during which Tala had become an archaeology professor, taking her students on digs around the universe. Tala had an interest in Earth’s history – the history the Ahmriana knew. She wanted to discover what happened to the feudal race who created humans. The race the Ahmriana called the Duwaln.

Through her research, she found a planet where there had been a great war between two species who ended up killing each other off. At least, that is what was thought to have happened. The location and the description fit the Ahmriana version of events for the Duwaln.

She spoke with her uncle Jean and asked if he wanted to join her on the adventure. Tala noticed he’d been in a funk since the Mars incident and thought he could use the diversion. He accepted, and Tala waited to go until Uncle Will brought the Enterprise to Earth for its regular maintenance. He had agreed to take them to the planet, and she thought it would be a nice surprise for her dad. There was a reunion with Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, Geordi, Worf, Tala, and Data. Thad, unfortunately, couldn’t make it, having just started a new job with a specialist search and rescue team. The gathered group had gone on to follow various career paths, but they all came together for this trip to the planet Trarous as an excuse to reconnect with their old friends.

Some of them had not yet met Soola in person. When they originally met Tala’s daughter over video and learned the neural net had cloned along with the embryo, they were equally in awe of Neara’s abilities. They only wished she had been around to see her handiwork.

After a week, they reached Trarous. The planet was left unexplored because of the sheer number of explosives covering it. Riker had his crew thoroughly scan the surface and detonate every one they could find. He waited a day for the dust to settle, then gave Tala, Data, and Picard the all clear. Riker warned them certain rock compositions easily hid the explosives from their instruments, so more than likely there were active ones still around. They needed to use extreme precaution.

This did not deter Tala. She was excited to explore the settlement ruins and make discoveries about the Duwaln culture. Picard was equally as excited. Data was not. He was concerned about the level of danger, but Tala was determined to go, so Data would make certain she remained safe.

They beamed to the surface and Picard split from them, choosing to search an area of interest on the other side of the settlement. Tala went in the opposite direction and Data went with her. On the scans of the surface, Tala noticed an area that looked like a temple of sorts. She took them to explore that section.

They came to a circular outcropping of stones, similar to Stonehenge. It was surrounded by, what appeared to be, a natural semi-circular formation of boulders.

Tala stopped at the first stone to examine it. There was carving on it – a form of writing – and she took photographs. She went to the next stone and took more pictures. It looked as if the stones were telling a story – relating an epoch.

“Look at this Dad,” Tala said, and stooped to pick up a small figurine placed at the base of the next stone. It depicted a woman holding her swollen, pregnant belly. She replaced it and stood up.

“I’m searching through the languages I know, but I can’t find one that’s similar enough to make out these markings,” Tala said, touching the stone. “Are you having any luck?”

“No,” Data informed, “I am unable to find anything etymologically analogous.”

“I guess we’ll have to piece it together once we’re back on board. Exciting stuff, eh?” and she smiled broadly at her father.

She walked to the next stone and they suddenly heard a click and a whir… In an instant, Tala’s protective sphere activated and she curled into a fetal position. Data jumped and clung onto her ball, just as the explosion flung them into the boulders. They went ricocheting around with the tremendous force of the explosion, shrapnel flying everywhere, a corrosive, flaming chemical belching forth engulfing its surroundings.

They were spinning and hitting surfaces, shrapnel piercing Data, the chemicals searing his back, but Tala’s sphere held – the sphere deflecting the chemicals, absorbing the debris’ momentum, slowing then stopping the pieces. They remained embedded in the sphere, hovering in a circle around her, but still more came.

Data knew now why Neara had taken all those years to make such a strong protection. He had questioned the need for it, but she must have known it would be necessary – just as she had known he would need to protect their daughter.

He held on tightly, the force of the impacts attempting to jar him off her sphere. _Hold on_ …

Shrapnel was lacerating him, puncturing vital processes, creating openings for the chemicals to leech in, he was quickly rerouting commands to maintain his grip. _Hold on_ …

He saw a large, jagged piece of metal penetrate Tala’s sphere. It was too large and fast to stop, and although its speed slowed, it managed to impale her side. She cried out in pain and her sphere flickered.

Their spin quickened as the explosion reached its apogee. More pieces lanced him, more chemicals burned him, and he could feel his body begin to shut down. He could not let that happen, not yet. _Hold on_ …

The explosion ended, their momentum slowed, and they went rolling across the ground. They finally came to a stop and Tala’s sphere flickered then dissipated, leaving her sprawled out and unconscious.

Data came to rest on his side. His hands fell in to hold Tala once the sphere was gone. He saw that her injury was non-fatal – his body had miraculously blocked the worst of the shrapnel. With grateful relief, he knew he had saved his daughter.

As he held her and felt her steady breathing, his processes began to shut down one by one, his energy slowly drained, he could no longer feel his body, the vision left his eyes. Then he felt Neara there, the warmth and joy of her loving presence welcoming him to the After.

Tala awoke, disoriented, to see Crusher standing over her. Crusher was no longer the doctor on the Enterprise, but she had asked if she could care for Tala. Crusher had removed the metal piece and mended the wound and had been waiting for Tala to regain consciousness. When she saw she was awake, she tapped her badge to hail the others and let them know. She gave Tala a kind smile.

“Wha..?” Tala started and Crusher answered her unspoken question.

“You’re on the Enterprise in Sick Bay. You were caught in an explosion on Trarous, but you’re going to be fine,” Crusher assured.

Tala was becoming more alert by the second. Her head wobbled a bit as she looked around the room and saw her father on the bed next to hers.

“Is Dad OK?” she asked.

Crusher took her hand, “Tala, I’m afraid your father didn’t make it.”

“No… oh Dad!” and she started crying. Crusher leaned down and held her. Tala wrapped her arms around her, sobbing.

She finally let go and said, “I want to see him.” Crusher helped her up and walked with her over to Data’s bed. He was covered in a blanket with his head exposed. She hadn’t noticed it from her bed since his head was resting on a pillow, but up close, she could see the back of his head was practically blown away.

She held his hand and touched his face and said, “Oh Dad…,” and cried.

Picard and the rest filed in, grave looks on their faces. Deanna was holding Soola, and she cried out, “Mommy!” and held her arms out to her when she saw Tala. Deanna brought her over. Tala took her, using her abilities to float Soola so as she held her, she wouldn’t have to bear her weight.

Soola looked down at her grandfather and back up at her mother, “Can we wake Granddaddy so we can go have dinner?”

“I’m afraid Soola your Granddaddy won’t wake up anymore. His light being is on its way to the After to be with your Grandmother,” Tala informed her child. “As Ahmriana, we have something important we need to do. We need to say the words and intone to help move your Granddaddy’s light being to the After. Will you help me with this please?”

“Yes Mommy,” Soola agreed. Tala put her down to use her hands. She gave her father’s face a tender stroke and tears welled in her eyes. Between choking sobs, she began.

“Data Na Soonga, of the family Na Soonga, android in nature, being of light. You have brought much joy and love. Your existence in the Now changed the vibration of the universe. You have made it better by your presence. We thank you. We are grateful to you. You are beloved to us, and we send you on your way with this love. As you came from the Before, we release you to the After. We release you… we release you… we release you.” With each release, Tala brought her arms up and threw them into the air and Soola followed her lead. Then she put her arms up and held them there, singing the universal sound _ahm_ in a many-layered harmonic. Soola and the others joined in. The non-Ahmriana each sang a note, thinking of their love for their friend. The room started vibrating.

After a couple minutes, Tala stopped and put her arms down. The others followed suit. The light being of her lovely and unique father, their kind and special friend, had been released.


	45. Meeting Soji

[Author’s note: In my version, only Soji and Dahj are Data’s children and they have emotions. The rest are sentient androids created by Soong.]

After the release ritual, Tala requested Uncle Will take her, Soola, and her father to the closest Ahmrian portal planet. She wanted to take her father to Ahmria to cremate him and imbue the planet with his essence.

Once on Ahmria, she contacted her uncle Altan to inform him of his brother’s death. Altan asked if he could have Data’s body to better help him with his work on androids. He thought closer study would allow him to create a sentient one – hopefully many.

Tala wasn’t certain how much help her father’s body could be, given his extensive damage. But she knew her father was a good and helpful being, so he would have wanted to be of use, if possible. So she brought her father to Altan’s planet, Coppelius. Altan was in hiding after the tribunal and was now even more paranoid after the incident on Mars and the resulting ban on artificial life forms. Because of this, only Tala’s immediate family was ever made privy to his location.

When Tala’s mother was alive, she had made a doorway to Coppelius in case there was an emergency with Tala, or if Altan needed to make a hasty retreat to Ahmria. Tala went to Dessa and easily intoned the correct vibration to open the specific portal and took her father over. She only asked that Uncle Altan let her know when he was finished with her father’s body so she could cremate him on Ahmria.

After two years, she collected him. She was surprised to see Uncle Altan had created many sentient androids over that time. She knew this would have pleased her father – his contribution had made a difference. And now, to Tala’s great joy and relief, she finally had others who could understand the android part of her nature.

It had been five years since Data’s death, and here Picard sat, in this quantum state, staring into Data’s strange and beautiful face.

“Am I dead?” he asked Data.

“Yes,” Data answered. “But doctors Soong and Jurati scanned, mapped, and transferred a complete neural image of your brain substrates into a golem. They extracted a single firing neuron from you before your brain functions ceased and placed it into the quantum device with me. They will then place it into the golem, bringing you back to life as an artificial life form.”

“Will that really work?” Picard questioned.

“Altan has not performed this procedure before, but he hopes it will work. I know it will work,” Data affirmed. “Altan approaches the problem from a mechanistic viewpoint, so he only partially understands the process. He sees your one firing neuron as a sort of defibrillator for the brain, that will induce your positronic neurons to respond in kind. Having an Ahmriana wife and living with Ahmriana has taught me much about the vibratory nature of the universe. Your neuron is vibrating with a specific frequency. Once it is brought into contact with the neural net of your golem, its vibration will transfer to the positronic neuron beside it, then that one will transfer it to the next and so on until the vibration is throughout your neural net. This will create a signal that will draw your dimensional energy being to it. Right now, it is drawn to the vibration of your single neuron, and that is why you have not yet moved on to the After. Once Altan completes the procedure, you will be alive as an artificial life form.”

“How come you’re not alive again? If we’re here together in this quantum device, surely your vibration could transfer to a new artificial life form?” Picard wondered.

“When conceiving Tala, Neara helped Altan to create this quantum device. She made it to house one quantum strand of my neural net and only for reproduction. Seeing as you are here, he has obviously managed to alter it to house more,” Data mused. He continued, “After my death, Tala brought my body to Altan to help with his research. He quickly found an undenatured quantum strand of my neural net which he placed in the quantum device. My body, even in its battered state, helped him glean enough information to create sentient androids. Altan was uncertain how to proceed with my quantum strand since he knew it had to be used in reproduction only or the procedure would not work. Then Bruce Maddox came and performed fractal neuronic cloning, cleverly creating twins so the one strand was used to full benefit. They left one single quantum particle in hopes they would be able to use it in the future.”

“So I’ll be leaving you,” Picard said.

“Yes, but before you go, I would like to ask a favor,” Data requested. “Would you please have Altan destroy my quantum particle?

“You want to die?” Picard asked.

“It is not that, exactly…,” Data explained. “This quantum device is creating a sort of limbo for my dimensional energy being. I am already dead and was on my way to the After with Neara, but when Altan found the strand and placed it in this device, I was pulled back to the Now. This single quantum particle continues to anchor me here. I need the signal to be turned off so I can leave with Neara. She has been waiting all this time to escort me to the After.”

“If there’s a way, wouldn’t you like to speak with Tala once more before you go?” Picard questioned.

“Although Altan could modify the device so I could speak through it, I do not believe that would be wise. I think it would bring Tala more pain if she heard from me. She would have a difficult time letting me go. It would be losing me twice – I could not put her through that,” Data reasoned.

“That’s understandable,” Picard agreed.

“Please introduce her to Soji,” Data entreated. “Tala always wanted a sibling. She will be overjoyed to know she now has one.”

“Of course,” Picard affirmed.

“Please know I have had a most wondrous life Captain, and I thank you for the love and support you have given me and my family. I had no idea my life would turn out to be so full – I am grateful to have had this experience in the Now. All this time I have felt Neara’s pull and have longed to be with her. I am relieved I will finally be able to follow her to the next plane of existence,” Data confided.

Picard got up to go. “Goodbye, my friend,” he said with earnest warmth.

Data nodded and smiled his slight smile, “Goodbye, Jean-Luc.”

Picard was moved. It was the first, and the last time Data used his name.

Data was alone and readied himself for his release from his quantum state. He lay on the couch and listened to Neara and his song, “Magic.” Even though, all this time, he could feel her there, he still missed her. It was as if he was stretching to reach her, but she was still too far away. He would be glad to be in her presence again.

As the device shut down, Neara’s presence grew stronger, until he could see her standing beside him. With a beaming smile, she took his hand and he floated from the couch and their quantum forms dissipated into the After.

Tala was surprised to receive an unexpected call from her uncle Jean. They had kept in touch, but he had become reclusive after the Mars incident and even more so after her father’s death on Trarous. Normally she had to initiate contact. She was happy he had reached out.

In a cryptic fashion, more reminiscent of Guinan, he told her he had somebody he wanted her to meet. He needed her to come to Coppelius. Tala was surprised Uncle Jean knew of it. What was happening? Uncle Jean said he would explain everything once she got there.

Tala and Soola took the Earth portal to Dessa, then Ahmria, where she left Soola with her family. Then she went to back to Dessa to Coppelius.

She walked into the compound and was greeted by scores of sentient androids she already knew, and some new ones. It always made her happy to be around her android friends. They had a childlike simplicity to their nature and were very sweet and kind. Uncle Altan had done well.

He came out and gave her a bear hug, “Ah, my favorite niece!”

“I’m your only niece, Uncle Altan,” Tala said in exasperation. “That joke just never gets old.”

“Unlike me. Come in, come in,” he ushered.

Uncle Jean was inside and they hugged and he gave her a kiss on each cheek. Not even an Ahmrian greeting – he had been in France too long.

“There’s someone I want you to meet, but first, I need to explain some things to you,” Picard stated. They went and sat down.

He informed Tala he had died on Coppelius and his being was transferred into an artificial life form. Tala was amazed at how far Uncle Altan’s research had come. Picard continued to explain that before the transfer, he was placed in a quantum device with Data. He related their conversation, ending with Data’s final release to the After.

“I didn’t know – I thought I was being helpful, bringing Dad’s body here. I feel terrible he was trapped all that time,” Tala fretted.

“I feel worse. I did it to him,” Soong lamented.

“Neither one of you knew, and he wasn’t upset with either of you,” Picard noted.

“Still, I wish I could tell him I’m sorry, and I miss him,” Tala said heavyheartedly.

“Your father thought it would be best if he was released from the quantum device without speaking to you. He thought it would be difficult for you to let him go. It would feel like losing him twice,” Picard elucidated.

“He was right, of course,” Tala welled up. “I wouldn’t have wanted to let him go. I would have wanted Uncle Altan to try and bring him back. But I’m glad he’s with Mom now.”

Picard went on to explain how he met Dahj and the sequence of events that lead him to Soji and then to Coppelius.

“So I have a sister?” Tala asked in wonder.

“Yes,” Picard affirmed. “Would you like to meet her?”

“Of course – I’d love to!” Tala said in breathless excitement.

Soji came hesitantly around the corner and Tala stood up.

“Soji Asha, this is your sister, Tala Na Soonga,” Picard introduced.

Tala smiled brightly and Soji stared, her mouth slightly open, a look of awe on her face.

“I love you,” she said to Tala. Tala laughed and came over and gave her the Ahmrian greeting followed by a big hug.

She stepped back, and Soji was still looking at her with that same expression.

“I don’t understand. I don’t even know you, but I feel like I want to make love to you, and I feel protective and nurturing at the same time. It’s very confusing,” Soji admitted.

“That must be a residual impression from your father’s neural net implant,” Soong surmised.

Tala smiled understandingly, “I’m a clone of my mother, so we look exactly alike. Obviously my dad would want to make love to my mother and would feel protective and nurturing towards me.

“So… Asha. Ahmrian for ‘seed.’ Were you using the Ahmrian word Uncle Altan?”

“Yes, I thought it was fitting,” Soong explained, “given the twins were from Data’s seed, as it were. And Ahmrian as an homage to your mother. You know I wanted to steal her away from your father, but she wasn’t having any of it. She only had eyes for him.”

Picard and Soong left the two women to talk. After a time, Soong came back in.

“Just a suggestion here, but I’ve really improved my technique of memory extraction, as evidenced by Picard,” Soong stated. “If you’d like, Tala, I could try extracting your memories so you could share them with Soji. Given your neural net, they should be really clear.”

“I think that’d be great, Uncle Altan!” Tala enthused. “Would you like that Soji?”

“Sure, it’d be interesting to see your memories,” Soji agreed.

Tala sat at the laboratory table and Soong placed a device over her head to perform the extraction. As Soong surmised, he was able to make perfectly clear copies of Tala’s memories. He hooked Soji up to the machine so she could look through them.

Tala stayed hooked to the machine and scrolled through the memories to different times and explained things to Soji. Soji really felt as if the memories were her own. She felt Data was truly her father, and Neara truly her mother. It was remarkable. She let Tala know this.

“I’m glad they feel like your memories. You deserve to know our Dad, and Mom would have loved you as her child. She did want to have more children with Dad, but she died before that could happen,” Tala imparted.

“I see that,” Soji said, and a tear ran down her cheek.

“Yeah, I don’t like to look through that time. It hurts too much,” Tala shared. “But there are plenty of times I do like. See this one?” and she scrolled through to watching Neara and Data’s wedding video. “I love their ceremonies.”

Soji ran through the memory and smiled.

Tala guided Soji through several other memories… being born and her Dad’s awestruck face, her as a baby with Dad singing “ _Soo Na_ _h_ _Se_ _e_ ,” Mom nursing her, Mom floating her and dancing as a family, doing the Riaka with her parents, Mom constructing her protective sphere, speed competitions with her Dad – there was so much love and joy in her life. She was grateful she had such amazing parents.

“ And now you have amazing parents too,” Tala informed Soji.

“I wish I could have met them in person,” Soji  said longingly .

“Me too,” Tala agreed. “Then I would have had somebody to share this with,” and she scolled through to another memory. “See, there’s Mom sniffing on Dad’s head,” and in the memory Data was sitting on the couch with Neara leaning over the back giving him a kiss on the top of his head. “I don’t think he ever noticed, but she would sniff on us all the time. I think she had  a fetish !”  she laughed.

Tala kept scrolling through to different times her mother was  sniffing on their hair, or their necks, or their hands , and Soji started to laugh.

“I think you’re right!” she agreed.

The two women had a wonderful time looking through the memories. Soji really felt she had a father,  a mother,  a sister… a family.

Tala invited her to come to Ahmria and meet her niece Soola and get to know the rest of her new relatives.

They bid Picard, Soong, and the androids goodbye, and Soji and Tala went hand-in-hand through the portal  taking Soji  to meet her  people .

Her family.


	46. Epilogue

Q suddenly appeared on the bridge. “Alright, where is she? I have to tell her I didn’t appreciate being wiped away, and I won’t appreciate being summoned by her people. It won’t change her outcome and it’s incredibly annoying. She’s the only one who can change this in her timeline, so I need to speak with her. And on top of that, it was very difficult finding you again,” he stated in a huff.

“Where is who, Q?” Picard asked in sudden annoyance.

“The Weaver,” he replied, and the crew looked at each other questioningly.

“The Ahmriana?” Q queried, and they still looked confused.

With a sweeping arm and slight bow of his body, he indicated Data. “Data’s _wife_?!” he sighed in exasperation.

Data turned around in his chair. “But I do not have a wife,” he said in earnest puzzlement.

“Oh, I must have gotten the wrong time continuum,” he muttered. “Should have realized that’s why I could see your ship.”

“I have a wife in another time?” Data asked, stupefied.

“Yes, she’s from Ahmria. Her name is Neara Na Ahta,” Q informed. He figured Data could go find her now. He was about to leave when Data spoke.

“I have not heard of Ahmria. Where is it?” Data questioned.

“Right, you haven’t found it yet. Let me give you a hand,” and Q snapped his fingers and the ship went spiraling across the universe and ended up orbiting a purple and blue planet with a silver haze surrounding it.

“This is Ahmria,” Q said, and everyone looked at the screen. He spoke to Data. “But just remember, _do not_ take the Weaver with you on this ship if you want to live out her lifespan together. Just _stay_ on the planet with her.” Data looked back at the planet in wonder. Q waited a couple beats, then rolled his eyes, “You’re welcome,” and disappeared.

The lights and instruments started flickering and the ship began to tremble. It stopped, and the ship’s computer spoke. The voice was distorted, speaking in a vocal range from very high to very low, all at once.

“Welcome to Ahmria.” There was a pause between words, the Ahmriana searching for the correct ones in the Enterprise’s universal translator. “We mean you no harm.”

“My name is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. We come in peace,” Picard offered.

There was a pause, then the computer responded, “Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, we saw you across the universe. We did not expect you until much later.”

“You may call me Captain Picard, it’s much shorter. We had some help from an acquaintance,” he explained.

“Captain,” Data interjected, “would you ask them if there is a Neara Na Ahta on the planet?”

“Neara,” the computer replied, “she is my child… daughter.” Static flashed across the screen and then the image of a handsome woman with light skin, raven black hair, and incredible blue eyes came into focus. She looked at the bridge crew. Her mouth moved, and then her words came through the computer, “How do you know of Neara?”

“The acquaintance we spoke of, his name is Q. He mentioned her,” Picard answered.

“Q..q..q..q..,” the computer echoed, “yes, we know of the Q. Why would the Q tell you of our Weaver?”

“Well,” Picard smiled awkwardly, “apparently, in another time continuum, our Mr Data,” he gestured to him, “was married to your daughter.”

The woman looked at Data, then back to Picard, “What is married?”

“They were together… they were a couple,” Picard explained.

The woman took a moment to comprehend, then responded, “I understand.” Another woman joined her. She had light skin, golden hair, and the same astounding blue eyes. She looked at Data, then spoke to the first woman and looked back.

“You may come to the planet. We will need to let you inside our protective sphere,” the first woman informed. “We see you have weapons.”

“They are only for defensive purposes,” Picard assured.

“They will not work once you are inside our sphere. But do not worry, you will be under our protection,” the voice asserted. “Do you wish to come to the planet?”

“Yes, thank you,” Picard accepted, and the silver haze on the planet expanded. They saw it approach the viewer and then it was moving across the bridge. Once it passed Data, the golden-haired woman appeared and crouched down beside him. She looked at him in excited awe and touched his arm. They popped away. Picard stepped forward in concern, and then abruptly the bridge crew found themselves on the planet.

Data was standing there with the two women. The dark-haired one addressed Picard. When she spoke, it came out as a song of many notes. There was a box floating beside her doing the translating. “We made these translators based on your one. I hope they are working correctly,” she tendered. “We have only brought down the people we saw, but there are many others on your ship. Would you like us to bring them down?”

“No, that will not be necessary,” Picard verified.

“I am Leyna Na Ahta, and this is my daughter Neara Na Ahta. We welcome you to Ahmria,” and she gave Picard and the rest the Ahmrian greeting. Neara did not leave Data’s side. She stood there holding his hand looking at him in fascinated wonder. Other Ahmriana flew over to greet the arrivals, and the bridge crew stared on in amazement. Neara popped away with Data.

Again, Picard was concerned, “Where is your daughter taking Commander Data?”

Leyna looked over to where they had stood, “Ah, they go to make sex with each other.” Riker looked at Troi with raised eyebrows, and she stifled a laugh.

Picard’s face grew stern, “I would appreciate it if she returned him to us.”

“She will,” Leyna assured, “once they are done. She will not harm him.”

“I’m sure she won’t,” Riker said under his breath and the crew tittered.

Leyna patted Picard gently on the arm and said, “Let us go have something to eat and you can tell us about your culture. We are interested to know you.” Picard put his vexation aside and the crew went to have their first Ahmrian meal.

Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, and La Forge spent two weeks on Ahmria in cultural exchange. The planet was incredible, the people were beautiful, and the food was extraordinary. They learned information about the people and the planet related to their various disciplines. Data spent all his time with Neara. When it was time to leave, he asked to speak to Picard alone.

“Captain, I wish to remain on Ahmria with Neara. I wish to resign from Starfleet,” Data declared.

“You’re certain this is what you want Data?” Picard probed.

“Yes Captain, I am positive,” Data affirmed.

“Then I wish you all the best. You will be sorely missed,” Picard asserted. “If you ever want to return to Starfleet, I’m certain they’d be more than happy to reinstate you.”

“Thank you Captain, I will bear that in mind after Neara’s death,” Data granted.

They had a goodbye party for Data on the ship. Afterwards, he went to his quarters and changed out of his uniform into the Ahmrian clothing he had been given. Spot and his things had already been transferred to the planet, so all he had to do was change clothes and beam down. He looked at his quarters one last time and then made his way to the transporter room.

Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, Worf, and his best friend, Geordi, were all there to see him off. They promised to keep in touch and come visit to see how he was doing. He would miss his friends and his life aboard the Enterprise, but it was time for a new adventure – an adventure of his lifetime.

Data and Neara spent their days on Ahmria. They did not often venture off the planet, Data being keenly aware of Q’s warning. Occasionally they would go through a psi doorway or Neara would create one and they would go to some vacation destination, but nothing too exotic or potentially insecure. Data did not want to take the risk.

Neara would use her extraordinary Weaver abilities to find situations where she could help while still remaining on Ahmria. She would look for problems that Data could help solve using his vast knowledge base and skill. They did much to improve the vibration of the universe – and this was in addition to the daily Riaka.

She grew emotions in him, and he fell deeply in love with her. He felt passion, lust, joy, belonging, and happiness. He was part of a family, but there was a longing to have a family with her. Neara used her psi wave to find someone to help, who turned out to be Data’s biological brother. Altan Soong and the Prime Healer made Data’s dream possible.

Their first child, Tala, was an exact clone of Neara with Data’s neural net implanted in her brain. She had troubles with its growth, and they figured out how to fix it. From this, Data and Neara learned valuable lessons which they used when conceiving their second child.

Neara did not want another exact clone, so they combined genetic material from Yara with Neara so the child would look different, but have mostly Neara’s genetic code. Zaria, meaning ‘happy vibration,’ was born three years after Tala. She had black hair and her face was shaped like Yara’s, but just as her sister, she had an implanted neural net.

Another three years later, Data created a sentient android. To make this child partly Neara’s they gave it Ahmriana eyes, cloned from Neara’s own. They named this child Nama, meaning ‘of the knowledge’ since it was made using Data’s neural net. Nama decided it wanted to have the same gender and appearance as Lal, and Data found no reason to object. She was a replica of Lal distinguished by her beautiful eyes. Neara would pull Nama onto the couch with her and cuddle Nama into her shoulder and kiss her rapidly all over her face. She would then kiss Nama’s head and sniff her hair and say she was her easiest birth while rocking her. At first, Nama was confused by this statement, but once her laughing siblings explained it to her, she laughed along. Data was so happy. He had three children and his incredible ka’sha – a family of his own.

His daughters and niece and nephew matured and had their own children who grew into adulthood. Neara became old, finally dying at the ripe old age of one hundred and fourteen. Data was heartbroken, but felt comfort in the fact that Neara had lived her entire lifespan. He had a rich and full life with her, and he had family to carry on with and love. She had given him everything he wanted and more.

Neara had told Data he would be with her in the After. She had told him to protect their granddaughter, Soola. Soola was Tala’s cloned daughter, the neural network being cloned along with everything else in the process. Soola meant ‘font of life’ in Ahmrian, and she was true to her name. Unlike other family members, she had no aversion to risk, and did things to help the universal harmonic that put her life in jeopardy. Neara was so concerned about this fact, she constructed a protective sphere around her granddaughter that would activate during an emergency.

Soola had decided to pursue a career as a medic, going into war-torn areas healing the wounded. Following Neara’s wishes, Data accompanied Soola on her missions. He piloted the medical shuttle craft, expertly avoiding enemy confrontations. He would go in with the medical team, carrying out the injured, removing heavy objects that trapped people, or digging them out when necessary. He would set bones and Soola would use her harmonic to knit them. She would close and clot and heal wounds using vibration. She would do everything she could on the battlefield, and then take away the ones she could not help there and then.

Data was so proud of her. She was kind, good, and helpful – everything an Ahmriana aspired to be. Everything an android would want his granddaughter to be. And she was brave, so very brave.

They were in a field. It was out in the open and Data advised moving the injured to a sheltered location. They had finished moving the last of the wounded and were checking to ensure they had not missed anyone when a combatant ship flew overhead. It saw them and released a chatnapt bomb. Soola flew and Data ran at breakneck speed, but they were not fast enough. The missile hit, sending shrapnel flying faster than they could avoid it. Soola’s sphere activated and Data wrapped his arms around it, the shrapnel piercing his vital processes, fatally damaging his positronic brain. As the life drained from his body and he saw Soola was uninjured, he felt Neara there, welcoming him to the After.

Q was holding Ahmria on his outstretched palm, looking at the planet like a snowglobe. He had finished scrolling through Data’s life, and now scrolled back to a point where Data and Neara were having a picnic at Lake Anansa with their three daughters and their grandchildren. They were sitting on the grass chatting happily while the children played in the water.

“ I hope you got the life you wanted Tin Man,” Q mused. Another Q suddenly appeared beside him, staring  at the planet.

“ What are you doing at Ahmria? You know the Q wanted us to stay away,” the other Q said.

“I was just checking on the results of a favor I’d done,” Q informed.

“ Tell me y ou didn’t help the Weaver!” the other Q exclaimed. “ The Q won’t take kindly to  you helping her when she killed one of us .”

“ I didn’t help the  _Weaver_ ,” Q defended, “I helped the  _android_ .  I wouldn’t  _dare_ help the Weaver – the Continuum would strip my powers, and I couldn’t  bear to go back to that. Once was  more than  enough –  I’ve learned my lesson. ”

“Good. How did you help the android?” the other Q inquired.

“He asked for assistance in another time period, and I couldn’t give him what he wanted without helping the Weaver. But I could give him what he wanted in this time,” Q answered and stared at the globe.

“Are you getting sentimental on us Q?” the other Q asked.

Q turned to the other Q in indignation, “Perish the thought!” The other Q then popped away. Q returned his gaze to the globe and softly repeated, “Perish the thought…”


End file.
